Both Panasonic and Sony have had a tough year, each losing billions of pounds, whilst just across the pond, Samsung Execs are swimming in pools of gold as smartphone sales boom and the firm retains a strong hold on the TV market.
OLED technology promises to shake up the TV and display markets yet again, by offering unbeatable blacks and contrasts, whilst in a small, energy-efficient form factor and, Korean firms Samsung and LG both have a leg-up in this market, with TVs already announced for release later this year and with Samsung holding a strong track record in regards to its AMOLED mobile displays.
Both Panasonic and Sony are known for producing excellent high-end TVs, however, Sony in particular has been pricing itself out of the market, slow to adjust to changing trends, whilst Panasonic has been relying on the Kuro plasma technology obtained from the purchase of pioneer patents to give its products a competitive edge. Whilst undeniably, between them, the two firms make the best LCD and Plasma products around, OLED has the future potential to push aside the technical benefits both firms have been able to achieve in the ageing technologies and offer up products that are both high-end and, given time, affordable.
It feels almost natural then, that news on the stock market is that the two Japanese firms are looking to make a deal in regards to OLED technology. With initially, both firms expected to share production and technological secrets in relation to the new tech, with potential for a future partnership as the technology matures.
Both firms share the same consumer image, of high-end, high-quality products and so perhaps this would be an ideal match-up. At the very least, this could be Japan's last chance to really keep its foot in the door of mass-market TVs as OLED technology begins to mature.
