LG Electronics unveils world's first 55-inch OLED TV

SEOUL. January 3. KAZINFORM LG Electronics, South Korea's consumer electronics behemoth, said Wednesday that it started receiving pre-orders for the world's first 55-inch organic light- emitting diode (OLED) TV on its home turf.

Consumers in Seoul can apply for the 11 million won (10,336 U.S. dollars) TV at 1,400 retail outlets across the country, with the delivery set to begin in early February, according to an e-mailed statement.

LG said that it came to seize the initiative in the next- generation TV market by rolling out the world's first 55-inch OLED TV, after releasing the 84-inch Ultra HD TV last year.

The company planned to expand sales of the OLED TV to North America, Europe and Asia during the first quarter in a bid to lead the next-generation Ultra HD TV market, Xinhua reports.

Global shipments of OLED TV were expected to stand merely at 50, 000 in 2013, but they were estimated to surge 144 times to 7.2 million units in 2016, according to the IT information provider DisplaySearch.