As flat panel screen technology continues to develop, it will change the world as we know it.  We have seen flat panels used in laptop computers for years, and watched them improve, however this is just the beginning.  Soon flat panel screens will replace televisions, current advertising media, such as posters, as well as integral parts of telephones, watches, automobile dashboards, and others.  As with most new technology, the limiting factor is currently price, although this is changing rapidly.  Over the past several years, we have seen them pop up on cash registers, food ordering systems, and on the sides of gas pumps.

Most likely, one day, screens will be foldable and even more highly portable than today, making a huge impact on Personal Digital Assistants, and computers.  Perhaps soon, we will use them to read what we now describe as books, magazines, and newspapers.  Maybe we will carry one device with us that essentially services all our information needs.

The reason this technology is so critical to the furthering of the technological frontier is because these screens will be the user interface for just about every mechanism we can imagine.  The manufacture of these screens is already a multi billion dollar business and the industry will likely undergo explosive growth over the next several years.

The first flat panel screens were developed by General Electric and Westinghouse in the early 1970s.  Manufacturing the screens, and development of the technology were very costly, and American firms encountered much trouble causing them to eventually give up.  Japan picked up the huge potential in this industry and is currently the leader in manufacturing and development.  This is a significant issue in itself, as America finds itself behind in what might become one of the major industries of the future.

Today, we are ever so close to replacing TVs completely, although, because of the price barrier, this change will come more slowly.  A February article in Business Week states:

“We've been hearing for years about big-screen televisions so thin and light you can hang them on a wall like a picture.  Well, they're finally here.  At least two brands are available in the U.S. now, and a dozen models should be on the market by the end of this year.  At only four to six inches thick and weighing about 65 pounds apiece, these svelte TVs make conventional large-size television sets seem like space-hogging, back-breaking monstrosities.”

Current prices for true flat screens are $8,000 upward, however, a competing interim technology, the flat cathode ray TV is currently advertised as starting around $2,000.