Toshiba has put back its plan to develop ultra-thin OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays until 2009 or 2010.

Sony's XEL-1: 3mm thick

The Japanese manufacturer blamed its decision on the high cost of mass production. However, a company spokesman said it will continue to watch the market to see if making OLED TVs becomes “commercially viable” in years to come.

The company isn’t calling a halt to its entire OLED development - it still plans to produce small OLED displays for mobile phones next year. However, its announcement calls a temporary halt to its existing plans to develop a 30in OLED model though, which the company said would go on sale in 2009.

Toshiba’s development pause will mean it'll lag behind Sony and Samsung. Sony released a 3mm thick OLED with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio in November, and Samsung has pledged to release 14in OLED TVs by 2010.

It’s not the first time Toshiba has postponed widespread development of a new display technology. In May this year, it delayed its Q4 2007 debut of SED (Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display) TVs, without naming another launch date.