An official announcement by LG Electronics has confirmed that the company’s 15-inch OLED TV will be available in Austria this May.

March 1, 2010 — A successor to Sony’s XEL-1 is finally set to reach the European market. Improving on the Sony model’s 11-inch screen diagonal, LG Electronics’ new 15EL9500 offers a 15-inch screen and an HD resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. The manufacturer’s Austrian division said in a statement that the model will be available in Austria from the beginning of May 2010.

The TV uses OLED technology, which works essentially like LCD, except that the pixels produce their own illumination. No backlight is therefore necessary, so the TVs can fit inside extremely thin casings — the 15EL9500’s screen is just three millimetres deep, and its electronics are all housed within the sleek, angular stand.

The 15EL9500 carries a recommended retail price of 1,999 Euros (about 1,800 GBP) in Austria, but the manufacturer hasn’t yet announced UK pricing or availability. Recent reports suggest the TV will also go on sale in the US; there, again, no precise information is yet available, but staff at recent trade fairs have suggested that the device will be released this summer, and will cost about 2,500 USD (1,700 GBP). We’ll bring you more information as soon as it comes in.