Intel is showing a nice new laptop concept, which actually includes 4 displays. Above the keyboard, there are 3 touch AMOLED displays. Each display is about 3" in size. This is a neat design:
The idea is to have seamless interaction between the main display and the smaller OLEDs - like the ability to move files between them, to zoom, scroll or pan content, etc.
Hyundai have unveiled their Blue-Will plug-in hybrid concept back in April. We've got some new photos (via CarAdvice), which show the transparent touch-enabled OLED display:
Interestingly this looks just like NeoView Kolon's transparent OLED prototype, also unveiled in April, so we can assume that they provided this unit for Hyundai. Here's the photo of NeoView Kolon's OLED:
The Blue-Will promises an electric-only driving distance of up to
64km on a single charge and a fuel economy rating of up to 2.2
liters/100 km (106mpg). It seems like several car makers are now testing OLEDs for dashboard displays.
All TV makers are now offering a green TV. Usually they still sell their normal TV, and the new green model is offered at a premium. Some use LED technology to reduce power consumption, and some use all sorts of ideas like an optical sensor that knows if you leave the room and shuts down the screen (but not the audio), or an 'eco-mode' button that reduces brightness by 20%.
These are nice ideas, and we definitely want to see less power-hungry TVs. But is this really financial sound?
An Israeli newspaper has made the calculation, assuming that you watch 4 hours of TV a day. For example, Samsung's 40" LED TV consume almost half the amount of electricity when compared to their normal 40" LCD TVs (95W/h vs 175 W/h). The cost is more than double. The saving? around 1.2$ a month in the electricity bill (in Israel 1 KW costs around 12 US cents). In any case, it will take over 166 years to offset the difference in price!
For Plasma (PDP) TVs, the savings are more substantial. For example Panasonic's new 50" Plasma, which uses their neoPDP tech consumes 269 W/h compared to 555 Kw/h in an older model. They actually reduced the price, too. The monthly power saving is around 4.7$.
Obviously the new LCD TVs offer a better viewing experience, and new models always cost more than old models, but it seems that the money saving is minimal.
OLED TVs will consume even less power than LED LCDs, but will be priced at a premium - at least until manufacturers can actually make them cheaper than LCD TVs (which should be possible, as they have a more simple design). I'm guessing that OLED TV companies need to focus the marketing on the image quality and thinness rather than the power saving of OLEDs...
Update: the video has been removed from YouTube...
Here's a nice video showing the Zune HD's OLED (3.3", 480x272 multi-touch AMOLED) vs the iPhone's LCD display. The colors come out better on the OLED, and the overall picture and video quality is better (although it's not easy to see this when viewing it on an LCD, of course).
The Zune-HD (with its 3.3", 480x272 multi-touch AMOLED) is listed as 'sold-out' in all major internet outlets, such as Amazon, NewEgg and BestBuy. Amazon is listing a 1-2 month wait for the 16GB model and a 1-3 week wait for the 32GB. It is still available at Microsoft's own store.
The Nokia N86 is finally available for US customers - being sold unlocked for 469$.
The N86 is a dual slider with 8Mp camera, 2.6" OLED, 3G and WiFi.
Nanomarkets has released a new OLED lighting report - "An Opportunity Analysis for OLED Lighting: 2009 to 2016". They predict that by 2016, OLED lighting sales into the general illumination market will be $3.4 billion. Revenues from OLED backlighting is expected to reach $2.1 billion.
Volkswagen (VW) has introduced their new L1 Hybrid concept car, which they say is the most fuel-efficient car in the world. It uses 1.4 liters of diesel to run 100km (61 miles). It's a very small car, and weights only 350Kg or so, and has a tiny fuel tank of just 6.3 liters (1.7 gallons). VW says that the L1 hybrid will be available in 2010, in limited numbers.
The L1 uses an OLED display - for the display screen in front of the driver (we do not know the specs of the display yet). Some reports say that there are actually two OLEDs, one in each side of the driver.
Philips say they will introduce four new OLED lighting concepts at the upcoming 100% design fair in London (24th of September). These concepts are created for high-design hospitality, residential and retail environments. Here's a video of an older concept, the OLED chandelier:
Philips' Lumiblade OLEDs are available at sample quantities (and high price...). Here's our own first-look review of the OLED white panels.
