Carbon nanotube TV trials upcoming

Applied Nanotech has signed a letter of intent to enter negotiations for a trial on carbon nanotube TVs with Da Ling, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer.

Under the proposed terms, Da Ling will invest $10m on a pilot manufacturing facility to make carbon nanotube TVs based on Applied's technology. In these TVs, nanotubes shoot electrons at a screen to create a picture. Functionally, they are similar to traditional CRT televisions, which still provide the best picture, but are slim, like LCD televisions.

Trials could begin later this year or early next year, said Doug Baker, chief financial officer for Nano-Proprietary, which owns Texas-based Applied. Full-scale commercial production could begin in two years. Applied demonstrated a prototype last year. Nonetheless, Applied and Da Ling still have to work out the final details of their relationship by June.

The idea for nano TVs has been around for a couple of years, but the price declines in plasmas and LCDs is making them slightly less attractive. Applied asserts that its TVs will sell for as low as $1,300 (£750) when they hit the market. Whether that represents good value depends on when they hit shelves and how big the screens are.

Canon and Toshiba have announced they would not be releasing their SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) TVs, which are similar to Applied's nanotube televisions, until 2007, a delay that will let the two companies try to lower the manufacturing costs. Executives at Samsung, which has created nanotube TV prototypes, now tend to downplay the technology.