NHK’s flexible OLED is both literally and figuratively green (video)

NHK's Flexible OLED

When it’s not pushing Super Hi-Vision, the hopeful 7,680 x 4,320 successor to HD, NHK also dabbles in small, flexible OLED panels. The Japanese public broadcaster recently showed off a 5-inch prototype display that, while bearing a heavy green tint and very noticeable rows of dead pixels, was still a significant improvement over a similar screen it demoed in 2009. Sure, it’s not quite as flexible or vibrant as Sony’s rollable OLED from last year, but it does seem to suffer from fewer bad pixels — an important step towards maturation. Don’t miss the video after the break which offers some pretty nifty glimpses at a number of bendable OLEDs. It’s clear the tech is still a little wet behind the ears, but we’re definitely getting closer to a future populated with TVs that roll up for storage and e-readers that fold like a paperback.

Continue reading NHK’s flexible OLED is both literally and figuratively green (video)

NHK’s flexible OLED is both literally and figuratively green (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s new OLED display promises higher quality images, glitch-free brightness

It may not be as flexible as some of the other displays we saw at last week’s SID conference, but Sony seems confident that its new OLED panel will deliver high quality images with enhanced, glitch-free brightness. The 9.9-inch screen transmits images in 960 x 540 resolution, boasts a ninety-six percent color gamut, and is powered by a Self-Aligned Top-Gate TFT (in which the gate material is placed above the insulator) that reduces disparities in luminosity. To achieve this, Sony developed a new, four-part manufacturing process that lowers the parasitic capacitance between the gate electrode and the TFT. The top-gate structure, moreover, shortens the TFT’s channel length, making it easier to adapt the technology to larger, high-resolution displays. No word yet on when the prototype will hit the market, but when it does, it’d be nice if it’s priced as reasonably as some other OLEDs from Sony.

Sony’s new OLED display promises higher quality images, glitch-free brightness originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UDC shows off serpentine OLED lamp concept at SID 2011 (video)

We’ve seen flexible OLEDs and OLED lighting solutions before, but none of them conjured our sweaty club-hopping fantasies quite like this concept from Universal Display Corporation (UDC). The flexible OLED makers weren’t particularly forthcoming on the specs for this color-changing apparatus, but we can tell you that it uncoils and recoils with the help of a motion sensor, and requires very little energy to power — note that tiny wire supplying 100 percent of the required juice. UDC used this flashy lamp specifically to show off its own brand of low-energy flexible white OLED lighting, which means you won’t see it popping up in B.E.D. anytime soon (if ever), but it certainly has us thinking of new ways to light up our nights. Gratuitous amounts of bouncing and beaming can be found after the break.

Continue reading UDC shows off serpentine OLED lamp concept at SID 2011 (video)

UDC shows off serpentine OLED lamp concept at SID 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 20:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple, Samsung Win Praise for Display Technologies

Apple's iPad (left) next to Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Apple and Samsung this week won awards for display technologies on their mobile devices.

Apple’s iPhone and iPad earned gold Display of the Year and Display Application of the Year awards from the Society for Information Display. Both devices received praise for their usage of in-plane switching technology, in which crystal molecules are oriented so their motion is parallel to the panel, instead of perpendicular to it. The result is a very wide viewing angle — up to 180 degrees — with brilliant color.

Apple’s iPhone 4 high pixel-density “Retina Display” is reportedly manufactured by LG Displays, which is also the main supplier for the iPad’s display.

Meanwhile, Samsung earned silver awards for displays on its Galaxy S smartphones, as well as its on-cell touch active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display technology. Samsung’s displays gained applause for using Super AMOLED technology, in which pixels emit their own light so the display does not require backlighting, to “deliver very high performance and exceptional display quality,” according to the society.

Also, Samsung’s on-cell touch technology integrates the touch sensor into the display itself, rather than putting the sensor on a separate piece of glass and laminating it on the display, which allows the display to be thinner and more responsive, the society said.

“[The award winners] demonstrate the remarkable contributions made by the display industry to broaden and enhance the lives of people,” said Bob Melcher, chairman of the SID Display of the Year Awards committee, in a press statement.

Display technologies take on an increasingly important role in the gadget industry as the newest mobile devices continue to shed physical keyboards and buttons in favor of touchscreens. Today, a smartphone’s display is as important as the software that runs beneath it.

Many display experts agree that Apple’s gadgets lead the game in the display industry thanks to their usage of in-plane switching, but Samsung’s AMOLED displays are not far from catching up.

“While OLED is still a relatively young display technology that has not yet been perfected to the performance levels of the very best mature LCDs [such as those on the iPhone and iPad], the Galaxy S is already an impressive display for an upcoming and rapidly evolving technology,” said Raymond Soneira, a display expert at DisplayMate, who has done independent testing on various displays.

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Samsung’s foldable AMOLED display: no creases, even after 100,000 tries

Samsung demoed some fascinating AMOLEDs at this year’s CES, including 4.5-inch flexible and 19-inch transparent displays — neither of which, sadly, will reach the market any time soon. But the innovation train keeps on rolling, and Sammy’s Advanced Institute of Technology now has a prototype foldable display, which may or may not be the same reference design spotted at FPD 2008. Its two panels have a closing radius of only 1mm, meaning they practically touch when closed, yet show no visible crease when opened. In fact, the developers performed 100,000 folding-unfolding cycles to test the junction; the negligible 6% decrease in brightness was invisible to the human eye. They used commercially-available silicone rubber to achieve that seamless look, and the prototype featured a protective glass cover which could also function as a touchscreen. Obviously there’s a market for touchscreens you can fold up and put in your pocket; here’s hoping Samsung can make them available sooner rather than later.

Samsung’s foldable AMOLED display: no creases, even after 100,000 tries originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia announces pink N8 with Symbian Anna, neglects to give us a release date

It must be hard for Nokia to keep consumer interest in Symbian going while simultaneously developing a whole new ecosystem, so we’ll forgive the unimaginative move to just do a pink version of the N8. That handset already benefited from the widest set of color options among any smartphone flagships, and will soon be adding a very T-Mobile-friendly shade of light red to its anodized aluminum case. Judging by those curvy icons on its 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, the pink N8 will also feature the latest version of Symbian, dubbed Anna, though Nokia unfortunately fails to tell us when we may expect this mildly refreshed phone to arrive. Then again, we suspect it’ll be pretty hard to miss whenever it does show up.

Nokia announces pink N8 with Symbian Anna, neglects to give us a release date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 06:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S II review

If you don’t already know all about the Samsung Galaxy S II, where have you been the past two months? The successor to one of the most popular Android handsets to date carries a burden of expectation almost as sizable as its 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. It promises to be thinner, lighter, and faster than the Galaxy S that preceded it, while garnishing Android 2.3.3 with a set of TouchWiz customizations that might actually enhance, rather than hinder, the user experience. As such, the Galaxy S II earns Samsung full marks for ambition, but does this slinky new smartphone live up to its interstellar hype? The answer, as always, can be found after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S II review

Samsung Galaxy S II review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eye-tracking microdisplay delivers Terminator vision, distracts joggers

Fraunhofer IPMS Eye-Tracking Display

The folks at Fraunhofer IPMS have done it! After years of tireless research and promises of Borg-like eyewear, the group has delivered a prototype of the world’s first bidirectional, eye-tracking OLED microdisplay (got all that?) at SID 2011. The rig is much like a monocle, except with a transparent OLED display inside, which overlays digital information on top of the reflected light that usually hits your eyeballs. What’s more, there are integrated photodetectors inside and special software to monitor the direction of your gaze, allowing you to interact with your newfound augmented reality using only the flick of an eyeball. Fraunhofer foresees joggers taking in movies while out for a run, which sounds more than just a little dangerous. We, on the other hand, envision a world in which the first thing anyone does upon meeting someone new is discreetly check their relationship status on Facebook — finally fulfilling the social network’s full creep potential. One more pic and the poorly translated PR after the break.

Continue reading Eye-tracking microdisplay delivers Terminator vision, distracts joggers

Eye-tracking microdisplay delivers Terminator vision, distracts joggers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chlorine could be key to the cheaper, more efficient OLED TV of your dreams

Chlorinate OLEDs

Chlorine — it’s not just for keeping your clothes white and your pool clean anymore! Soon, layers of the stuff, just a single atom thick, could play a pivotal role in OLED manufacturing. Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that this tiny amount of Cl can almost double the efficiency of existing displays while reducing complexity and driving down costs. Using a rather simple procedure involving UV light, the team was able to chlorinate standard electrode panels found in conventional OLEDs without having toxic chlorine gas wafting about. While this is good news for manufacturers, it’s even better news for consumers. We’ve been itching to mount a big, organic flat-screen in our parents’ basement living room. Finally, we may see cheap OLED TVs on Walmart shelves — right next to the Clorox.

Chlorine could be key to the cheaper, more efficient OLED TV of your dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Velve OLED lighting panels cover a broader spectrum (video)



The University of Michigan may boast the best blue, but Mitsubishi subsidiary Verbatim is showing off OLED lighting of a different color; several of them, actually. Demonstrated this week at the Fuori Salone show in Milan, these 14 x 14 cm Velve-branded lighting panels are amongst the first color tunable OLED light panels, giving off what Verbatim calls “colourful lighting with a luxurious feel; as smooth and as rich as velvet.” Velve. Velvet. See what they did there? Sample Kits will be available in Japan later this month for ¥90,000 ($1,063), and Verbatim hopes to see the technology put to use in consumer products by the end of the year. Suddenly white light OLEDs look positively old hat — here’s hoping the price comes down before we burn through our incandescent stockpile.

Velve OLED lighting panels cover a broader spectrum (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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