Philips has shown off a wild futuristic concept of a new type of window, which it says it will release to the market in a few years.  The company has developed transparent OLED layers which it can encase in glass or plastic, creating a window that is clear by day, but lights up the interior of a room by night.

Many have speculated that OLEDs might find their way into light-up windows, but until recently the technology to implement such dreams was unavailable.  Now that such tech has arrived, Hans Driessen of Philips Research in an interview with Tech Radar says that it will still take a while for it to mature and hit the market.  He states, "It could be a few years before we see this kind of OLED produced commercially.  We're still far away from creating this, as we need to create bigger surfaces, and this is what projects like OLED100 are doing at the moment."

OLED100 is a European collaborative effort between companies that produce OLEDs.  Currently Phillips, working with this group, has developed a 12cm prototype window that lights up for several minutes.

Problems still abound for the tech, though.  States Mr. Driessen, "The problem is that currently OLEDs need to be produced in a clean room, and a single particle could destroy the entire OLED, so we're working on methods to cope with this at the moment."

Once OLEDs become affordable many speculate their flexible nature and vivid color will make them a natural fit for applications like light-up clothing, or in-window car displays.  For now those looking to get OLED devices might be able to get an OLED television -- provided that they can find one. 

While extremely pricey for their size, and produced in low quantities, these sets are pioneering the way for the OLED industry and feature arguably the best color around.