The Sony Corporation is now selling a futuristic TV in Japan that is only about one-eighth of an inch thick — that’s one notch on a tailor’s tape measure.

The new televisions, which began arriving in Japanese stores this month , have an 11-inch screen and cost 200,000 yen (almost $1,800), said Jon Reilly, a product marketing manager at Sony Electronics.

The sets replace the bulky backlighting of typical LCD televisions with a thin film that glows with colors even when viewed from the side. In January, Sony will announce the United States release date and pricing, Mr. Reilly said.

The Sony TV, called the XEL-1, owes its saturated colors and superlative slimness to the emerging technology of organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs.

The Television Screen, Sliced Ever Thinner - New York Times