displays

Scintillating specs: New 5.2-inch OLED display for smartphones

Get ready to see more smartphones sporting a spectacular OLED screen.

Japan Display -- a joint venture consisting of Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi's manufacturing muscle -- revealed the development of a 5.2-inch OLED smartphone screen featuring 1,080p resolution and an ultra-sharp 423 pixels per inch (ppi). … Read more

Episode 33: Sony Xperia Z gets a whole new kind of dunk test

Straight out of the box, the LG Optimus G Pro looks like it's going to be a crowd pleaser. With its 13-megapixel camera, spare battery, and charger, "quad-beat" earbuds, and cute Korean comic book manual, Jeff can't help but hear "Dream Weaver" in his head when gazing into its gorgeous display. It's even big enough to live up to Molly's phablet standards. Plus, the LG Optimus G Pro sports a sparkly back that, once again, prompts our hosts to reference "The Matrix."

The Sony Xperia Z, which made a surprise … Read more

See which parts of the globe are currently lit with Sunlit Earth widget for Mac

When conversing with people from all around the globe, it is useful to know if it's day or night in their city. A simple glance at Sunlit Earth for Mac can help you with that.

Sunlit Earth for Mac offers a simple widget that displays the current position of sun and the sunlit portion of the globe. Knowing where the sun is currently can be useful when communicating with people worldwide, whether for business or simply when staying in contact with family or friends located in another time zone. This widget seems to be an easier solution in comparison … Read more

Apple envisions future iPhone with wrap-around display

Your iPhone of the future may come with a clear glass body and a display that wraps all the way around.

Published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent application known simply as "Electronic device with wrap around display" highlights a phone or other electronic device that dispenses with the current flat design in favor of something much more flexible.

The display itself would unwind, or unroll, around the device to reveal a wider array of items. As a result, more space would be available to display icons, photos, videos, and other content.

Users … Read more

Apple iTV iffy this year because of supply issues, says report

A new report from Asia claims that Apple will not have an easy time getting the very-high-resolution display it needs for the iTV.

That would purportedly be a 3,840x2,160 Ultra HD display, according to a report in Digitimes. That resolution is sometimes referred to as 4K Ultra HD.

The report cites two obstacles for Apple. One, Ultra HD TV makers in Taiwan are booked up already for 2013 orders. That supply is going to China-based TV makers. Two, it's not clear if one Apple's favorite display suppliers, LG Display -- which provides displays for the iPad … Read more

Apple sets deadline for retiring old device ID system

It's official. Apple will longer accept new apps or app updates that access UDIDs. The company has set a May 1 deadline for this new policy.

"Starting May 1, the App Store will no longer accept new apps or app updates that access UDIDs," Apple wrote on its developer Web site today. "Please update your apps and servers to associate users with the Vendor or Advertising identifiers introduced in iOS 6."

UDIDs are the unique string of numbers that individually identifies each iOS device. Typically, they have been used by developers as a way to … Read more

Epson Moverio BT-100 head-mounted display: In-depth hands-on

The Epson Moverios are heavier than my regular glasses. I'm not sure I mind. Since I first got glasses in the fourth grade, I dreamed about them having some sort of built-in head-up display, feeding me real-time data about the world around me. Two seconds into the Google Glass launch video, and I said, out loud, "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY."

Turns out, Epson has been working on similar "iGlasses." Like Google Glass, these are an early entry into the technology. So if you're hoping for a snarky review about early tech, you'll be disappointed.

If you want to know what it's like having something like this, what it can and will be, and a shocking lack of jokes about me wanting Geordi La Forge's barrette thing, read on.… Read more

Retina iPad Mini later, new Nexus 7 sooner -- DisplaySearch

An iPad Mini with an upgraded display could appear later in the third quarter or fourth quarter, while a very-high-resolution Nexus 7 may be more imminent, according to DisplaySearch.

"We're seeing potential in the third quarter of panel production for a higher-resolution iPad Mini," DisplaySearch analyst Paul Semenza told CNET today.

"When would the Mini be available? Could be third quarter or fourth quarter," he said, adding that the speculation is DisplaySearch's best guess based on supply chain data.

Estimates about the timing for a Retina version of the iPad Mini have been all … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions about battery care, where to get Mac-specific training, what to do about guest accounts deleting user data, and the limitations of using an iMac as an external display for other systems. I welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Common battery care guidelines MacFixIt reader Thomas asks:

I am eternally confused by battery care. My current understanding is that the old … Read more