OLED devices - Page 44

Sitting on the front edge of the system is a small OLED readout, called the Toshiba Edge Display. This, by default, shows you the time, the battery level, and the wireless signal strength, but it can also be used with a new Windows Vista feature called Active Notification. If you set up a POP3 e-mail account with Outlook 2007, Active Notifications allows the system's wireless connection to stay active (or cycle on and off periodically) even when the laptop is closed and in sleep mode. If a new e-mail message comes in, the Edge Display can display an appropriate icon.

Read more here (C|Net)

The 'homemade' pong watch is almost done.

It features a 96x64, green color OLED display. The display is always on, and battery lasts 25 hours.

Using a transponder and hidden antennas which communicate bi-directionally, Delphi's Keyless Entry System with Vehicle Information Display enables the vehicle to be locked from further away than before. It also enables the driver to access critical information about the vehicle at ranges greater than 500 meters.

Delphi's two-way communication key fob provides the vehicle owner with actual status of the car such as whether the car is locked or the alarm is activated. Other information included in the display are interior temperature, alarm condition, fuel level and vehicle location. The information is displayed in a large, easy-to-read organic LED display on the driver's personal fob while using very little current to prolong battery life. The two-way communication device also includes a communication range management feature which ensures that returned information to the car is always received by the identification device. The Delphi show car is started by pressing a start switch when the key fob is in range.

Art.Lebedev gives an update on the Optimus OLED keyboard -

We have asked 20 OLED makers to give us the price for the displays of the size we need. Only five of them answered - probably because our specs require tooling and most factories are afraid of anything new. We've chosen one manufacturer who will start producing OLEDs in January 2007. Production cycle takes 8-10 weeks. Our specs: 32x32 pixels, 9x9 mm active area, 65K colors.

Read more here (Art.Lebedev blog)

A location-based services trial that will see a famous Tokyo neighborhood blanketed with about 10,000 RFID tags and other beacons got its start earlier this month.  The Tokyo Ubiquitous Network Project seeks to install RFID, infrared and wireless transmitters throughout Tokyo's Ginza area, which is the most famous shopping area in the capital. The tags and transmitters will provide location-related information to people carrying prototype readers developed for the trial, said Ken Sakamura, a professor at the University of Tokyo and the leader of the project.

The terminal being used in the Ginza trial has been developed by Tokyo's Ubiquitous Computing Technology Center. It features a 3.5-in. OLED (organic light-emitting diode) touch-panel display and a host of networking interfaces. There is RFID, infrared and 429-MHz wireless for interacting with the beacons in the trial, a wireless LAN for connection to the Internet and a Bluetooth link.

For the Optimus-103 OLEDs have to be custom-made. We have to choose the manufacturer next week (there are some of them), define the specs and finance every production stage including the tooling. Tooling itself costs a minimum of US$70-100k. Production cycle takes at least three months. Every display costs about US$10. Multiply that by the number of active keys.

Read more here (Art.Lebedev blog) 

Chatten Associates reports a new application for eMagin’s Z800 3DVisor. The Pennsylvania-based hardware developer has turned the popular gaming device into a controller for remotely driven vehicles.

We simply modified the 3DVisor to fit on a soldier's night vision helmet mount, noted John Chatten, CEO and president, Chatten Associates. Soldiers responsible for disposing of explosive ordnance use it as part of a head-aimed vision system to look for road-side bombs. Wherever the soldier looks, the sensor gimbal-mounted on the vehicle looks (courtesy of the Z800's motion detectors). For soldiers wearing the system, it's like being out there, except they don't get hurt if the bomb goes off."

Sony Ericsson showed a new concept phone - the CyberShot phone. It looks quite beautiful.

It's slim, has a 3.2 megapixel camera, and an OLED touch sensitive keypad.

There are a couple of videos demonstrating the Anlong MP4 watch...

The display is a 160 x 128 OLED.

The hyped Optimus keyboard is changed again - back with color, back with OLEDs.

I can assume that the hefty price tag (1200$) for the B&W LCD keyboard was just too much, and they realized that they need to do something. Even with OLED color keys - will someone pay over a 1000$ for a keyboard? We'll have to wait and see.

Read more here (ArtLebedev blog)