amoled

Although the iPad 2 is only a few months old, Apple is already trying to gather up the necessary parts for the iPad 3, according to a report from DigiTimes yesterday.

Citing industry sources, DigiTimes said that Apple has begun certifying components for the next-generation iPad, a process that's triggered quick responses from many Taiwan-based hardware manufacturers.

The sources said that Radiant Opto-Electronics has already won certification for its LED backlight units, while makers of backlight modules and light bars have received certification as well.

One component still to be certified is the tablet's touch-screen panel itself. Companies … Read more

(Editors' note: This is a primer for people who are unfamiliar with screen technology. If you're already well-versed, you might be more interested in my colleague Eric Franklin's screen tests, like this one between the iPhone 4, Morotola Droid X, HTC Incredible, and the Samsung Epic 4G.)

I don't know anyone who doesn't want their smartphone screen crystal clear, with saturated colors leaping off the display. But unless you're a screen tech buff, it isn't always easy knowing the difference between premium screens with fancy names like LCD Plus, Super AMOLED Plus, and Retina … Read more

Smartphone buyers who've been waiting for the 4G version of the Nexus S can now pick up the new model.

Making its actual debut yesterday, the Samsung Nexus S 4G is available directly from Sprint for $199 with a two-year contract or for $549 without a contract. But Best Buy is offering an even better buy, selling the phone for $150 with the two-year committment.

The new Android phone builds upon the same specs found in the Nexus S offered by T-Mobile but with the faster speed kicked in by Sprint's WiMax network. However, that 4G and other cool new features will take a bite out of your wallet.

Buyers will have to sign up for Sprint's Everything Data plan, which starts at $69 per month. It's an extra $10 a month for the Premium Data Plan add-on. And if you want the mobile hot-spot feature that lets you connect up to six wireless devices, you'll have to throw in another $29 per month.… Read more

The smartphone that Nokia has been touting as its new "flagship" business model will finally reach consumers this week.

Following its unveiling last September and a long delay coming to market, the E7 will have a small, initial launch in the next few days, with a broader launch to follow soon, Nokia announced today.

Nokia's announcement was mum on a number of launch details. However, a Nokia representative told CNET that the E7 will be released first in Finland, the company's home turf. She could not provide names of any other countries, just saying that broader … Read more

LAS VEGAS--"Flexible" isn't something you'd think you needed in a cell phone screen, but CES is all about concepts and future applications in addition to big-name product releases.

That's why we were excited to see prototypes of two Samsung displays. One is a malleable screen you can actually bend in a wave or arc. The 4.5-inch screen has an impressive WVGA (800x480 pixel) resolution that you can curve. It's also paper-thin, less than 0.3mm thick.

We may have been a bit drastic with our photo shoot (see image above,) but there … Read more

Having amazed us with a 14-inch transparent screen earlier this year at CES 2010 in Last Vegas, Korean company Samsung is at it again. It's whipped out what could possibly be the world's first 19-inch see-through AMOLED display with 30 percent partial transparency.

It's also superthin and one step closer to the futuristic panels seen on "Avatar." It can't be too hard to imagine the hardworking chaebol surprising us next with a screen that marries multitouch magic like we saw in James Cameron's sci-fi epic. Samsung is picturing its latest see-through venture for … Read more

Typically, we only have to look at Japan and Korea to know what cool phones we're missing out on. Today's find is the AMOLED Beam (SPH-W9600), which succeeds the earlier Haptic Beam (SPH-W7900). No prizes there for guessing the display type in use.

The AMOLED Beam has a 3.3-inch WVGA touch screen, 5-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, HSDPA, terrestrial DMB connectivity, support for DivX, video calls and, most importantly, a built-in WVGA projector capable of beaming content up to a maximum screen size of 50 inches.

The phone, however, is available only in Korea, according to Samsung. There's … Read more

Besides biometric features, passports may soon get a tiny screen as a standard feature. Exhibiting what it calls the world's first e-passport equipped with an AMOLED display, German company Bundesdruckerei at CeBIT 2010 took the lid off what could be the future of airport custom security. This taps the same technology from Samsung that we Craved about earlier this year at CES in Las Vegas--the OLED display in a photo card.

The good news is the AMOLED panel is slim and bendable (and presumably hardy enough not to snap in your pocket). This comes in a 240x320-pixel resolution with … Read more

If you thought tilting and swiping your iPhone was the future, just take a look at the Synaptics Fuse. It's a concept phone that points to how we'll be fingering, tilting, and even squeezing our phones in 2010 and beyond. We're lighting the fuse on this innovative concept and standing well back.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based touch-screen and trackpad manufacturer Synaptics has headed up a coalition of interface experts to produce what it calls a "next-gen mobile phone concept." It packs a 94mm (3.7-inch) WVGA AMOLED touch screen with a cool interface, rolling icons … Read more