Samsung shows crisp, high-res tablet display
Nouvoyance, a Samsung subsidiary, is set to show off a supersharp 10.1-inch LCD for tablets that is essentially a supersize retina display.
Samsung subsidiary Nouvoyance is set to reveal an impressive 10.1-inch LCD next week that could be used in future tablet computers.
The 10.1-inch stunner features a 2,560x1,600 (WQXGA) resolution screen at 300dpi driven by PenTile RGBW technology (found in the Google/HTC Nexus One, Samsung i9000, Motorola Atrix, and others). RGBW's claim to fame is that, among many other improvements, it adds a white subpixel to the traditional RGB mix, resulting in higher brightness and sharpness.
Other notable elements of the prototype display include a wider color gamut and a 300cd/m2 luminance rating with 40 percent less power usage compared with legacy RBG-stripe LCD screens. There's also an option to scale up to 600cd/m2 luminance when the outdoor mode is enabled. Outdoor visibility has been a sore spot for tablet computers, enough that Amazon focused on it in a Kindle commercial bashing the competition.
Samsung is a supplier of LCD screens for a variety of tablet computers, including Apple's iPad. Tech bloggers are speculating that this high-resolution display could be the visage of the iPad 3 when that slate likely goes on sale next year. (Despite Apple and Samsung currently being embroiled in litigation over patents and other intellectual property, Apple has, according to DigiTimes, turned to Samsung for screen production following light leak problems with LG's products.)
High-resolution displays have eluded the first several generations of tablet computers, mostly because of cost and power inefficiency. Apple's iPad 2 has a 1,024x768 display running at 132dpi, while the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 both feature resolutions of 1,280x800 at 160dpi.
Those numbers are relatively meaningless, as the displays on each of those devices look great to the average consumer. However, if you've ever used an iPhone 4 (with its 326dpi "Retina Display"), you're more likely to notice the difference between a high-resolution, high-DPI display and everything else out there.
Nouvoyance's super display will make its debut next week at the SID Display Week 2011 conference in Los Angeles, and Samsung expects it to be commercially available for tablets later this year.
