Competing technologies - Page 43

Engadget has posted an interesting comparison between 6 different Android phones: MyTouch 3G, HTC Hero, Motorola Milestone / Droid, Acer Liquid, Google Nexus One, and Samsung Galaxy (laid out clockwise in the image below). Two of these have OLED displays, the Samsung Galaxy and the Nexus One. Engadget say that the best one is the Nexus One's 3.7" AMOLED. You can see for yourself in the following photo and video:

A Japanese consortium of 13 companies (including Sharp and Hitachi) claims that they found a way to make LCDs using plastic film instead of a glass substrate. This means that those displays can be very thin and flexible. They do admit however that this is a very complicated process. They have shown a 3.5" bendable color LCD that just 0.49mm thick and weights 7 grams. They hope to make a better display by 2012, and use this technology to mass produce thin, curved LCD displays.

The companies say that the new manufacturing process is simpler than the one used in current LCDs, and also the new displays will consumer 70% less energy!

Tech-On has posted an interesting article about OLED TV status. They discuss the situation of the technology, why is it so difficult to make a large OLED panel, and how are the various TV makers trying to solve the issues.

I think the two most interesting points are:

• They suggest that because LCDs have got so good in terms of efficiency,thinness and quality, it'll be hard for OLEDs to compete. Instead companies try to open new markets with transparent or flexible OLEDs, things that cannot be done with LCDs. Indeed we can see Samsung, Sony and LG all showing these kinds of displays. I think we may also add 3D OLED TVs to the mix here.
• They say that LG plans to volume produce 20" OLED panels in 2010. This is the first time we hear of such plans (beside a promise for 'larger panels' a few weeks ago). LG also plans 30" OLED TVs in 2011, and 40" in 2012.

So, yesterday Apple finally unveiled their new device, the iPad tablet, which basically seems to be an oversized iPhone. And it hasn't got an OLED display, but rather an LCD (an IPS LCD to be exact - which has a better image quality and viewing angle than normal LCDs, but requires more power).

Apple iPad

So it hasn't got an OLED - this was rather expected. It seems that we'll have to keep waiting for Apple's first OLED gadget.

AU Optronics announced today that they have purchased certain FED-displays-related assets and technologies from Field Emission Technologies (FET). In the transaction, AUO will acquire certain
assets that include patents, know-how, inventions, and relevant equipment related to FED technology and materials. AUO wants to become one of the few companies in the world that will be able to offer commercialized FED products.

FED displays feature fast response time and high efficiency, brightness, and contrast. AUO says that FED and OLED will both be used in future high-end displays. AUO has recently shown a new 14" OLED prototype.

Just a week after telling us that the 3.7" AMOLED as used in Google's Nexus One costs $23.5, iSupply now says that the 3.7" TFT-LCD used in Motorola's Droid costs $17.75. That means that the AMOLED costs 32% more. The touchscreen overlay costs $17.75
in both the Nexus One and the Droid. This means that totally, the
AMOLED touch display is only 16% more expensive than the touch TFT-LCD.

Interestingly, the iPhone 3GS' LCD is smaller than the Droid's (at 3.5") but costs more - $19.25. That means that Google's 3.7" AMOLED costs only 22% more than the smaller iPhone display.

Obviously these are just iSupply's estimates, but it's interesting anyway. 

A US company called Prysm is unveiling a new display technology called Laser Phosphor Display, or LPD. LPD is based on Phosphorescent materials, and a laser that scan on the display's surface and 'turn the pixels on'. This display does not require a backlight, and black pixels will not require any power (as it is with OLED displays).

Concept Prysm huge TV

Prysm says that this technology is very efficient - a 55" panel will consume less power than a single light bulb, and it is also cheap to build. Prysm wants to target commercial vendors first and not consumer TVs, and in any case haven't shown even a demo yet. But we'll keep watching... 

There are some new rumors that Apple's new device will actually be marketed primarily as an e-reader. It makes sense that Apple will want to enter the e-reader market now, when it's starting to take off.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of display will be chosen for such a device. Almost all e-readers use e-paper displays which are very efficient and great on the eye. But they are monochrome (although color ones are expected in 2010) and have slow refresh rate. If Apple wants this device to be used as an internet tablet too, they'll have to choose another display type. Obviously we're hoping for the first Apple OLED product...

LG has announced a new LED LCD TV, that's only 2.6mm thick. That's even thinner than Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV! The new TV is 42", weights only 4Kg (!) and has a 120Hz refresh rate. A few years ago, one of the advantages of OLEDs were being thin and light, but LCD has advanced very quickly in that respect - although OLEDs can be made much thinner, it doesn't seem to really matter any more, at least for TVs. Unless of course they'll start making rollable, flexible OLED TVs...

LG 2.6mm thick LED LCD

UPDATE: This video has been removed from YouTube

Yesterday we posted a video comparing the Samsung Omnia II's OLED vs the Nokia N900's LCD (and the OLED is much better, of course). Now the same user has uploaded another video, showing how the displays behave in direct sunlight - and the OLED is much better. This is interesting, as usually people say that OLED are very bad in such conditions. A couple of months ago we posted a story on this - showing examples of OLEDs in sunlight that are completely non-readable. Barry Young from the OLED association told us that newer OLED displays will be much brighter - perhaps he was right.