Samsung plans to sell OLED netbooks as soon as the screens become commercially available, the company said at an industry trade show.
"Samsung is the largest OLED screen manufacturer," Kyu Uhm, head of worldwide marketing, said at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany, according to TechRadar. "And as soon as it's available commercially for laptops we will adopt it."
That could happen as early as Q3 of 2010, Uhm added.
OLED screens are generally praised for having more brightness and contrast and higher refresh rates than the LCD screens commonly used in notebooks and televisions. They're also thinner and more energy-efficient -- two qualities that could prove useful as laptop manufacturers compete to make slimmer products with longer battery life.
In televisions, manufacturers are having a tough time making large OLED screens. These screens tend to have high failure rates, and they degrade over time. Sony notably put OLED TV development on ice due to the high costs of development. Still, some companies, including Sony and LG, are bringing smaller OLED TVs to market. These sizes of 15 inches or less could also prove ideal for notebooks.
The timing of late next year could be just right, too. By then, we could be looking at an economic recovery, at which point consumers may be willing to pay a premium for a better-looking laptop with great battery life.
Of course, the price will drop over time as well, to a point where OLED screens become the standard. Earlier this year, DisplaySearch predicted that 2011 would be the year when the market for OLED screens explodes.
