As if we didn’t already have enough acronyms and TV types to decipher, Sony now tells us to get ready for FED displays in 2009. Invented in the 70s, Sony and Motorola have stepped up research of Field Emission Display (FED) tech in the past few years, and now Sony says we can expect its first FED screens for sale at the end of next year.

The most compelling news is that FEDs possess the best of all display characteristics. They work in a vacuum much like an old-style tube-type TV, but they're only a few millimeters thick instead of having a bulbous back that takes up half your living room. Plus, they’re said to be sharper and more energy-efficient than LCDs and plasmas, and are easier to build in huge sizes than the up-and-coming OLED displays.

Sounds perfect. The first FED displays will be going to broadcasters and medical applications, so that tells you these things aren’t going to be cheap out of the gate. It remains to be seen how long it’ll it take to bring the FED’s pricing down to earth.

Via übergizmo