There are reports that Samsung's Super AMOLED plus packing Tab 7.7 is headed towards Verizon - and this particular model will support LTE. Last week we reported that an unlocked 3G model is now available fore pre-orders on Negri Electronics, for $668. We're not sure if all these reports are real, but the tablet sure is coming soon (it did arrive in the FCC for testing and approval weeks ago).

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the world's first tablet with an OLED display, a 7.7" Super AMOLED Plus panel, offering 1280x800 resolution. Other specs include Android v3.2, Dual-core 1.4 Ghz processor, HSPA+ radio, 16GB to 64GB internal storage and a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, GPS and two cameras (3MP and 2MP).

According to new reports, Panasonic started to build a new 8.5-Gen OLED TV pilot production plant in Himeji, Japan. The company has already ordered some of the equipment. Panasonic's Himeji plant is currently producing LCDs (apparently it has a capacity of 810,000 monthly TVs).

Reportedly, the investment in this stage will not be large as this will be a small pilot line - Panasonic currently only wants to do some R&D and testing there. The company still needs to assess the business model. But its clear that the Japanese maker does not want to leave the emerging OLED TV business to its Korean competitors...

Panasonic decided to return to the global mobile phone market - and announced the first phone it will market worldwide - an ultra slim Android phone with a 4.3" qHD AMOLED display. This phone (which doesn't have a name yet) will be launched in Europe in March 2012 and later hopefully in the US and Asia.

A few weeks ago we reported that Samsung's Super AMOLED plus packing tablet has arrived at the FCC for testing and approval. We still do not have an official release date or price - but the Tab 7.7 (or P6800) has popped up for pre-order on Negri Electronics - for $668.50 (for the unlocked 3G 16GB version). We're not sure if this is legit, but if so - it probably means that the first OLED tablet will be released soon...

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the world's first tablet with an OLED display, a 7.7" Super AMOLED Plus panel, offering 1280x800 resolution. Other specs include Android v3.2, Dual-core 1.4 Ghz processor, HSPA+ radio, 16GB to 64GB internal storage and a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, GPS and two cameras (3MP and 2MP).

Samsung Mobile Display produced a short Video (in Korean) showing a transparent, flexible 3D AMOLED display based tablet. This is obviously just a concept device, and it'll take years before they'll be able to commercialize something like that, but it's still cool:

Flexible OLEDs are still not available, but Samsung does plan to start producing these in 2012. The first screens will probably not be bendable ones, but Samsung will be able to produce them on curved surfaces. Several other companies (including Sony, AUO, LG, HP, Toshiba, TDK and others) are working towards flexible OLEDs. This technology is exciting device makers, too - check out Nokia's Kinetic prototype - a completely flexible mobile phone. Apple is also interested in such displays.

OLEDWorks signed a patent license agreement with Global OLED Technology, LG's company that holds Kodak's OLED patents. This is a royalty-bearing license that gives the right to use OLED lighting related patents.

OLEDWorks is an OLED lighting panel manufacturer that was established in 2010 by former Kodak OLED business experts. Earlier today the company announced a $61,000 grant to expand their R&D lab in Rochester.

Colnatec demonstrated a new "self regenerating" OLED film thickness sensor system, called the Tempe. The system includes a new heat resistant quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and a unique temperature controlled sensor housing and measurement electronics. The Tempe provides real-time, in-situ, ultra high accuracy process sensor that periodically renews itself, making it operational for hundreds of hours without fail.

The new crystal (which they call the RC cut quartz crystal) is immune to radiation and stress induced frequency shifts. When the RC is coated in the thin film process it changes its frequency - which gives the thickness measurement.

OLEDWorks received a $60,700 grant from Rochester Gas & Electric company (RG&E) - to upgrade their R&D lab. OLEDWorks currently has 8 employees already working in the new lab, and they plan to hire 12 more staffers next year.

OLEDWorks is an OLED lighting panel manufacturer that was established in 2010 by former Kodak OLED business experts.

There's an interesting article discussing a team of engineers in Samsung which developed the Super AMOLED HD displays. As was suggested before, Samsung is still using a Shadow Mask (or FMM) to fabricate Super AMOLED HD displays. Using new materials and a new manufacturing process they managed to develop such a fine mask that enabled over 300ppi - a thing that was considered impossible by several companies.

So Samsung didn't move to LITI production yet, and they are still using FMM. Samsung also developed a new technique called Small Mask Scanning (or SMS) will enables them to scale up AMOLED production to 8-Gen plants.

Aneeve Nanotechnologies, a startup company at UCLA's on-campus technology incubator, managed to fabricate a new fully ink-jet printed carbon nanotube (CNT) circuit that is used to drive OLED displays. The company says that this is the first practical demonstration of carbon nanotubebased printed circuits for display backplane applications, and it shows significant performance advantages over traditional organic-based printed electronics.

Aneeve says that this shows that CNT is a viable technology to compete with a-Si and metal-oxide semiconductor for low-cost and scalable backplanes.