China to Procure US$4.5 B. of LCD Panels from Taiwan This Year

"A procurement delegation led by Yang Xue-shan, Vice Minister, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China, recently visited Taiwan and signed several purchase letter of intent (LOI) with local companies, with total procurement value being about US$4.72 billion to include about US$4.5 billion or some 30 million liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. 

Some local manufacturers of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels pointed out that the Chinese central government`s new subsidies for energy-saving consumer products will drive demand for LCD TVs in the second half this year.

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Bai Weimin, vice chairperson of China Video Industry Association (CVIA), pointed out that the London Olympics will stimulate LCD TV demand in China, while the Chinese government`s new subsidies will trigger replacement purchases to demand some 20 million LCD TV panels in the second half. 

The vice chairperson added that some 120 million TV sets are forecast to be produced in China this year, with the maximum annual TV-panel capacity being only 25-30 million units. The mainstream TV panel size is 32-inch, while demand for 39- and 50-inch panels is also quite strong." via CENS

ONELAN will be joining forces with Avnet Embedded at the IN-STORE Show at Olympia, London, (stand G125) on June 27-28

"Avnet Embedded will be exhibiting simplified digital signage solutions for in-store applications. They will demonstrate ONELAN’s Cyclone Enterprise content management solution delivering digital signage and messaging throughout a customer’s store, using Instore Screen’s Network One LCD integrated media player and Network One HD Box connected to external displays, said the Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, U.K.-based company.

The platform has been developed for the retail and enterprise sector to manage digital signage from shop window displays to welcome screens in foyers/receptions, right through to the point of purchase or point of sale." via Digital Signage Connection

New Leasing Partnership with Leading iPad POS Creator

"LEASE POS NOW has partnered with Revel Systems, an iPad POS company in San Francisco. Lease POS NOW has just been named the exclusive leasing company for Revel Systems iPad POS. This partnership enables customers to lease their iPad POS hardware from LEASE POS NOW for just $250 a month, per iPad system. Furthermore, every year, the company will receive a free update in the iPad POS equipment.

Leasing restaurant equipment and retail equipment for the iPad POS is beneficial to both small and large businesses as it can help save money on expensive equipment upgrades and repairs that are essential to the growth of the company. By only paying a small leasing fee each month, instead of several thousand dollars every couple of years for a new system, leasing POS equipment helps improve a company’s cash reserve.

Though many companies need an enterprise POS system, the upfront cost can be daunting for companies on a budget. However, leasing equipment eradicates this issue, as the upfront cost will be much lower than new buying equipment. This upgrade to Revel’s unique system will help to improve your company’s sales and therefore greatly improve your budget as well." via PR.com

AUO's 4" flexible AMOLED on video

"Back in November 2011 AUO unveiled a 4" flexible AMOLED prototype. Today the same panel won the "Outstanding Photonics product award" at the Display Taiwan 2012 conference. Here's a video showing the display. You can skip to 2:43 if you want to see a closeup footage of the AMOLED panel, showing how AUO setup a nice mechanism that keeps bending it:" via OLED-Info

PRI-DSF North American Digital Signage Index

Image via Sixteen:Nine

"As the digital communications network (DCN) industry continues to expand, there is a growing demand to measure activity from period to period. To address this need, the Platt Retail Institute began compiling the North American Digital Signage Index (NADSI) in the fourth quarter of 2009.

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The Index is published quarterly and presents a single industry composite measure. In addition, activity in major industry sub-segments, such as software, Digital Out-of-Home networks, and ad agency/brand adoption rates is presented. The Index focuses on several areas including the current level of business activity and the view for the industry's prospects. The results are presented in a detailed report, which may be purchased here for $95 per quarterly issue. 

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The current North American Digital Signage Index report shows a slight decline in industry performance, masking the underlying momentum the digital signage industry has built.  The report includes 30 charts and graphs, along with a review and commentary about industry trends." via Platt Retail Institute

Philips Shows Glasses-free 3D Displays

"Technology company Philips showed new 3D displays that are "glasses-free" last week at the InfoComm 2012 conference in Las Vegas. Philips also introduced a new Touch series of displays and a new lineup of commercial-caliber televisions.

Philips' public signage division has introduced new 42-inch and 55-inch commercial displays with conversion software that converts 3D Stereo and 2D content into glasses-free 3D content in real-time. The displays require no specially prepared content and provide a 3D picture from multiple viewing angles. The new line of displays will be available globally in mid-June." via Campus Technology

ISTE 2012 | June 24-27 | San Diego BenQ America Corp. | Booth 5031

"“At ISTE 2012, BenQ will unveil a number of exciting new products designed to enhance the classroom experience and take learning to ‘Higher and Higher’ levels,” said Lars Yoder, President at BenQ America Corp. “Visitors to our booth will experience our new interactive flat panel displays and our latest SmartEco, interactive, and high-brightness projectors. These products have been designed specifically to provide higher levels of interactivity, efficiency, collaboration, and performance for educators and students, while dramatically reducing total cost of ownership for schools.”" via BenQ USA

Switching to smart lighting

"Lighting is becoming the largest consumer of electricity in buildings, accounting for 25 percent or more of total costs. At the Leti’s Annual Review this week in Grenoble, France, Alexandre Lagrange at the CEA-Leti Optic and Photonic Department, demonstrated CEA-Leti’s engagement in research leading to smart lighting systems with adaptive and controllable properties.

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The white LED efficiency, said Lagrange in his keynote, is currently increasing sharply. Performances are there. But a plateau will be reached soon. There is not much to gain in terms of performances. And looking at the cost trajectory for LED luminaires, margins will drop dramatically. Today, LED cost is about 6$/klm but the cost reduction should be transferred to the customers so margins will be lower.

OLED technology is a few years behind in terms of performances. The cost is a blocking point as, in 2011, it was about 20.000$/klm. “It’s another dimension, and the OLED lighting market is not yet foreseen,” noted Lagrange.

Customers want more light, or lumen, per dollar. For that, Lagrange called for more than lumen. This means adding new functions, working on high-quality lighting, developing easy-to-integrate in-house solutions and adding more services through the light. 

Lighting has become electronic, and LED should move to smart lighting, Lagrange continued. Intelligent lighting parameters should enable the user to adjust the quality, the quantity and the direction of light." via EE Times

Nintendo Debuts 3DS XL With 90% Larger Displays: Available August 19 For $199

"We’ve seen a huge trend lately with OEMs increasing screen size on smartphones, where gaming has grown to be more and more prevalent, slowing chipping away at Nintendo sales. It only makes sense that Nintendo would take a hint and offer more screen real estate on their portable gaming devices." via TechCrunch

Panasonic and Sony to Team Up for OLED TVs Next Week

"Arch-rivals Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp. are projected to become allies next week when they sign an agreement to cooperate on next-generation OLED [organic light emitting diode] televisions. The companies reportedly intend to jointly develop new process technologies to mass produce OLED TVs that will be price-competitive with existing LCD-based televisions.

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The cooperation between Sony and Panasonic will inevitably change the landscape of the OLED market significantly as the two have a clear aim to reduce pricing of appropriate screens. The biggest question is how successfully will the two companies act together and how competitive will be their products in general.

The display and TV businesses in the second half of this decade will inevitably become a new intense battleground as numerous new technologies will be about to enter the mainstream market by then. While stereo-3D televisions are available at obtainable price-points now, in the second half of the decade ultra high-definition (UHD) resolutions, UHDTV and improved color gamut will not only be technically possible, but will become selling major selling points and growth drivers. In such situations, it does make sense to form long-term alliances now." via Xbit Laboratories

Philips Integrates OPS Slot for Internal PC Modules

Technology company Philips has launched a set of LCD displays that adhere to the Open Pluggable Specification (OPS), useful in digital signage. At InfoComm 2012 last week in Las Vegas the company was showing its new Philips OPS-enabled displays, consisting of nine different products. OPS is an industry standard interface developed by Intel that allows users to insert an internal PC into a Philips digital signage display. The slot is designed to simplify the changing, maintenance, and upgrading of a media player.

Available in 42-, 46-, and 55-inch formats, each format comes in non-touch, dual touch, and multi-touch models. By adding the OPS PC, users can streamline deployment and setup of the displays. The OPS PC modules themselves require no optional connections; the IT person can insert the module and begin using the functions." via Campus Technology

Educational iPad kiosks on rise in schools and universities

"Kiosks featuring iPads and aimed at educational programs, marketing campaigns, information portals and recruiting events are on the rise with school districts, k-12 schools, colleges and universities across the nation, according to ArmorActive Inc.

The company said it has helped to secure thousands of iPads and facilitate custom solutions for a wide array of iPad related projects in educational settings.

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Recently, the San Diego School District announced plans to introduce more than 25,000 iPads into their K-12 system. In Maine, 285 students are reading at a higher level because iPads have been incorporated into their curriculum. These large volume iPad deployments are part of a growing trend in education from kindergarten all the way to graduate programs, with applications ranging from educational games for children to college textbooks and campus portals, the company said." via Self Service World

KAL unveils cashless ATM

Image via Self Service World

"The RTM does a deposit transaction and puts money directly into the retailer's bank account," he said. "So 'Steve' goes in to the RTM, does a $100 transaction; money comes out of Steve's account and it goes into the acquirer bank's account. Simultaneously, the acquiring bank puts money into the retailer's bank account." ...The RTM can even offer video conferencing with a teller using the unit's 17-inch onboard liquid crystal display or an attached video topper, Korala said. And because it runs on the same KAL software that runs ATMs, the RTM interfaces with the bank's network like any other machine.

The RTM was conceived by KAL as a means for banks to expand their footprint across a geographic area simply, rapidly and at significantly less cost than with a fleet of ATMs — to be exact, Korala said, at one-tenth the typical cost of operating an ATM for a year.

Initially, KAL expected the RTM to generate the most interest in developing countries such as India and China, where governments are pushing hard to move banking services into un- and underbanked areas. And while this has been true, Korala said, the RTM also has excited interest in developed countries where banks see it as a potential difference-maker in a very competitive marketplace.

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Though the RTM is something of a departure for KAL, it doesn't mean the 23-year-old software company is suddenly "changing its spots," Korala said. "[W]e've got a patent on this [globally] and we are going to license the patent as well as the hardware design … and we've decided that we need to build our own RTMs to begin with at least to make sure that we seed the market. But we're not going to become like NCR and Diebold; we're going to license it to anyone who wants to build it."" via Self Service World

Army, Northrop Grumman, BAE move forward on next-generation JETS infantry targeting system

"The Army established the JETS program in 2009 as an Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps initiative to develop and field a one-man portable targeting system to enable infantry forward observers and tactical air controllers to call for fire from indirect munitions like JDAM and Excaliber, as well as call for close air support from all joint forces.

Among the goals of JETS is reducing friendly fire and collateral damage by helping soldiers differentiate between enemies, friendly forces, and civilians while working with satellite positioning and surveillance data.

Military forces need a lightweight handheld system for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, target engagement, and fires coordination for infantry forces, Army officials explain.

Current systems are far too heavy or lack necessary capability for accurate fire support during the day and at night, and do not work well with digital communications necessary to receive, transmit, store, display, plan, and coordinate targeting data.

This solicitation will call for industry to design and build JETS prototypes as part of the program's full-scale development phase, which should last for about 2 1/2 years, during which the winning contractor will be asked to deliver between five and 20 prototype JETS systems." via Military & Aerospace Electronics

Best and Most Affordable POS Solutions for Business

"Is your point of sale (POS) service provider keeping up with emerging, more affordable technologies? Sixty-six percent of retailers are interested in implementing mobile point of sale (mPOS) terminals, according to TKTK. Motorola Solutions estimates that 36 percent of fixed point of sale systems will be replaced with mPOS systems by the end of 2013. TopTenREVIEWS has just released a comparison of the top POS system providers to reveal which companies offers the best, most affordable POS solutions for retailers and restaurants. We also evaluated whether they have released mobile technologies such POS software for iPad and Android devices.

"Customers rate their shopping and dining experiences higher when newer POS technologies are used to process their payments,” said Lecia Monsen, Managing Editor of TopTenREVIEWS. “They enjoy the convenience of immediate service without the hassles of waiting in a checkout line to pay their bill."" via TopTenREVIEWS

Fujitsu to Demonstrate Latest Consumer, Communications, Industrial, Automotive Products at Embedded Systems Conference in São Paulo June 26-27

"Also on display will be a full set of power management ICs that are designed for a broad range of consumer electronic applications, including a demo of a new LED driver IC. A final highlight will be demos featuring Fujitsu’s industry-leading, single-chip graphics display controllers (GDCs). Fujitsu’s GDCs are ideal for displaying content on small-form-factor, high-resolution LCDs for automotive, handheld and computer applications.

To learn more about how Fujitsu technologies can help designers realize their objectives, contact Fujitsu for a meeting during the conference: https://www-s.fujitsu.com/us/semiconductors/form_esc.html.

For more information about Fujitsu’s leading-edge MCUs, FRAM, PMICs and GDCs, or for information (in either English or Portuguese) about the company’s presence at ESC, visit http://www.fujitsu.com/us/semiconductors/esc_br.html." via Fujitsu

Boost Your Signal and Benefits of Tablet PCs in Law Enforcement

Image via The Ruggedized Computing Blog

"With the advent of new technologies such as rugged tablet PCs and secure wireless communications, many law enforcement departments have seen substantial improvements in efficiencies as well as enhanced operations capabilities.  However, for some law enforcement officials operating in remote rural areas, maintaining a wireless signal can be a challenge.  But the ability to improve signal quality through the use of cellular signal boosters provides the solution law enforcement personnel have long needed. 

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Information such as incident reports, records databases, or something as simple as a road map are all conveniently available via a rugged tablet PC inside a patrol vehicle.  Such access provides valuable information that makes their job easier to perform and more productive over the course of the day.

The ability to utilize a rugged tablet PC in the field to compile reports remotely saves both time and money.  Oftentimes rural responders without wireless access are forced to leave a call and drive to an area substation where reports can be completed on a desktop computer.  This reduces response times and increases fuel costs due to the needless commutes back and forth to substations.

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Gaining access to the technology previously only available in urban environments makes law enforcement personnel more productive in the field, reducing response times and fuel costs.  It also allows them to pursue more proactive methods in order to ensure the safety of their communities and the residents living in them." via The Ruggedized Computing Blog

Wither Pixel Qi (pronounced "Chi")

Image via Flat Panel Display Blog

"Sunlight, or even bright room, visibility has always been a problem with LCDs. This issue came to the fore with the development of notebook PCs for third world audiences and e-readers for the developed world. While an expedient solution for the e-reader market, where video speeds were not required, was to go to an e-paper screen, for the third world PC solution, transflective technology was developed that could be incorporated into conventional LCD manufacture. 

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to see the Pixel Qi screen. Pixel Qi is a company that was formed to commercialize the screen technology that was developed for the "One Laptop Per Child" project. The screen was incredible; easily viewable in direct sunlight. When I saw it, I expected that I would start seeing this technology on notebooks within the year. Since then, although there have been a number of sample and customer announcements from Pixel Qi, the industry, in general is focusing on other areas of screen improvement with, I think, decreasing relevance to the new usage models the mobile device industry is intending to create. Again, the Pixel Qi technology has been around for some time and to my own tastes, it would have been universally implemented the very next design cycle.

Additionally, beyond the mobile market, there is an emerging Public Information Display (PID or "Digital Signage") that can make good use of the technology. PID is increasingly an outdoor technology and one of the great difficulties in engineering an LCD for outdoor usage is rejection of solar radiation. This is across the entire spectrum, UV, visible, and IR all cause problems for an outdoor LCD. Further, to make up for the washout caused by the visible light, Outdoor PIDs must be run at at-least 1000 nits and even then can have low contrast. (A Nit is a level of brightness. A conventional notebook screen probably runs at a level between 120 and 200 nits.) The LCD pictured here runs at 100 nits and is being used to provide weather, advertising, and other information at a bus stop in Las Vegas. The display, facing north and sheltered, is readable but could be greatly improved.

The additional heat and energy required for a 1000 nit display further complicate outdoor PID design. A display that operates on reflective technology should be a natural here. So in addition to relatively small mobile displays, I would expect the Pixel Qi technology to appear in much larger PIDs. Again, I am surprised that the industry has not jumped on this technology." via Flat Panel Display Blog

Philips teases with a new OLED lighting "Art of Light" video

"Philips posted a teaser video, called The New Art Of Light. It involves OLED Lumiblade panels of course:

We do not know much yet, except that "Soon you will be able to create sculptures with light". Philips will reveal it on June 26th." via OLED-Info

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Unbreakable, Higher-Resolution 5.5" Display

Image via DigitalVersus

"For now it's all rumours and hearsay, sometimes leaked from subcontractors, but what's certain is that the Galaxy Note II (seen in the non-official photo above) is already creating a buzz. Word on the street says it will have a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with Pentile technology (two sub-pixels per pixel) with 1680 x 1050 pixel resolution (300 dpi), compared to  the current Galaxy Note's 5.3-inch Super AMOLED screen and 1280 x 800 resolution (285 dpi).

According to Korean website, MK Business, the display currently in the works is unbreakable and the first in a coming generation of Samsung-made flexible OLED screens, possibly the fruit of the firm's Youm technology. Only a few weeks ago it was announced that the components would be ready for implementation in client/competitor devices by late 2012. It appears Samsung may have fast-tracked the display for its own products." via DigitalVersus