It’s reported that Hitachi Ltd. (TSE:6501) and Canon Inc. (TSE:7751) have agreed to jointly develop and manufacture small and midsize organic electroluminescence (EL) displays for digital cameras within two years.

The two firms plan to set up in early July to handle the project, they will transfer a total of about 100 engineers to a new organization.

They also intend to build a new production line at an existing plant in Chiba Prefecture to turn out organic EL displays on a trial basis. Based on the results, the two partners expect to build a system to mass-produce the EL displays at relatively low cost, taking advantage of Canon's materials coating technology and production control know-how.

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co. mainly to makers of cellular phones and portable music players. Small and midsize organic EL displays are currently supplied by Samsung SDI Co. But Hitachi and Canon are joining forces to quickly commercialize higher-resolution displays with screens of 2.5 or 3 inches for use in digital cameras, the most promising application for small and midsize EL panels, and office equipment.

Hitachi and Canon are focusing on organic EL displays, which offer high-resolution images even in bright light, because LCD panels, the current mainstream products, have trouble showing clear images in well-lit areas outdoors.