In Pictures: Philips and Sony OLED Displays

This frame from a video released by Sony shows its flexible OLED screen being bent into a semicircle while the video continues to play on the screen.

The 4-inch display features a higher resolution of 320 by 240 pixels.

OLED pixels use an organic material that emits its own light, so no backlight is needed. That means the screens consume less power and can be made thinner. OLEDs also handle fast-moving images better and offer good color reproduction.

The lack of a backlight makes the screens much thinner than competing LCD or PDP panels, as can be seen in this side view of a Sony 27-inch OLED panel.

Sony's prototype 11-inch OLED TV on show in Tokyo. The company hopes to bring a TV like this one to market in Japan before the end of 2007.

Sony's prototype 11-inch OLED TV showing a live digital-TV image. The tuner is in the base of the TV set.