Toshiba has shelved its plans for mass production of OLED flat panel displays by 2009/2010, citing cost considerations.

An excerpt from Ars Technica:

To date, OLED production has been considerably slower than what was initially forecast. Manufacturers have wrestled with display lifetime for years. Originally, OLED displays had a lifespan of only 5,000 hours compared to an LCD’s lifetime of 60,000 hours. This has slowly changed over time — manufacturers now estimate they can build OLED screens that equal or exceed the lifetime of a standard LCD — but these sorts of issues have pushed mass-market introduction of large OLED displays ever further into the future.

Despite the advantages that OLED displays have over present day display technologies (power efficiency, flexibility, realistic colors, and more), the cost considerations do not seem to pan out well, even for an established player like Toshiba Corporation.

The markets will have to wait three to five years for OLEDs at the right price.

More information:

Toshiba shelves plan to sell OLED TVs in 2009/10 (Guardian)

Toshiba Says No Thanks to OLED TV Production for 2009/10 (Electronic House)