CES: Sharp accused of OLED foolishness

met wet with angry responses

The management of Sharp have been accused of short-sightedness over its delay in manufacturing Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) screens.

At a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Doug Koshima, chairman of Sharp Electronics Corporation, said that his company had no plans for developing OLED screens at present and would be sticking with LCD screens for the time being.

“While Sharp is exploring the possibilities of OLED technology we are sticking with LCD for the time being,” he told the press, adding that the technology “was not ready for prime time.”

However, OLED manufacturers have criticised the stance in the strongest terms, blaming the decision on the ingrained culture of Sharp's management.

“Sharp have their heads up their rear ends on OLED,” David Fyfe, chief executive of Cambridge Display Technology, one of the leading OLED manufacturers, told vnunet.com.

“Their problem is the current management made their reputations on LCD technology. They skipped a generation in management, replacing leaders in their 60s with management in their 40s who bet big on LCD technology.”

He explained that other manufacturers were embracing OLED technology, with Samsung leading the charge. Sony too is investing heavily in OLED, Fyfe said.

Samsung is widely expected to announce a new 14in OLED display early this year and other manufacturers are developing their own OLED products.

OLED technology offers several advantages over LCD and TFT screens. Screens can be made much thinner than conventional flat screen monitors and they use much less power, since a back light is not needed.

However, the technology does have some disadvantages. It does not last as long as LCD panels and production has been difficult, with a high failure rate, but these problems have now been largely overcome Fyfe said.