LG Electronics May Start Selling 55-inch OLED TVs in Second Half of Year

LG Electronics Inc. (066570) said it may start selling the world’s largest television using the organic light- emitting diode, or OLED, technology in the second half of this year as it seeks to give a boost to stagnating TV sales.

LG, the world’s second-largest (066570) TV maker, will unveil the model with a 55-inch screen at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, Ken Hong, a Seoul-based spokesman for the company, said by telephone today.

The new display technology produces sharper images than liquid-crystal display panels, and allows TVs to become thinner in designs. Global shipments of LCD TVs may have reached 206 million units last year, falling short of an earlier projection of 211 million units, researcher DisplaySearch said in October.

LG’s 55-inch OLED model is 4 millimeters thick, and weighs 7.5 kilograms, according to the company. It will also feature 3- D functions and Web-based services, Hong said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jun Yang in Seoul at jyang180@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net;