I really like OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes). My mp3 player contains one, and it produces a striking, bright display with very little drain on the battery. In college, I even tried to build a simple OLED in an engineering lab, though it didn’t turn out very well. Fortunately, the engineers at Sony and the Max Planck Institute are just a bit more talented than me. They have recently come out with an exciting new OLED prototype – one that bends.

This new device is both transparent and flexible, while still producing a bright display that can be viewed at almost any angle. Its response time is up to ten times faster than traditional LEDs, making for smooth, smooth video. The engineers of the future could have a field day with this material, creating ultra-light laptops, rollable televisions and digital newspapers.

But why should this product delight an Ecogeek more than any old geek? Most importantly, all LEDs consume less energy and are therefore more efficient. That’s a plus for us on the consumption end. But OLEDs also offer an advantage on the production end – they can be printed onto a wide variety of substrates. Obviously, the environmental friendliness of the OLED ultimately depends on the substrates chosen and the production requirements for that substrate. But it means that manufacturers aren’t working with heavy metals like mercury, which go into many fluorescent lights.

(Here's an EcoGeek OLED review for a bit more info)

Isn’t it great when futuristic technology starts outdoing its own Hollywood sci-fi image?

Via oled-display.net

Image via e46M3's Flickr profile

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