The Display Industry News Roundup For 11.21.2012

Image via Sony / Flat Panels HD

5 display technologies of the future "One of the most promising next steps is tactile – or haptic – technology. In a tactile touch screen you add a separate layer that can provide feedback to your fingers when touched. In other words; it can imitate physical buttons and textures dynamically on the screen surface; for example sandpaper or dirt. It happens dynamically and the device can make buttons or surface textures pop up and go away everywhere on the screen." via Flat Panels HD

Samsung Stretches Lineup "South Korean conglomerate Samsung is pushing ahead with plans to start mass production of displays using plastic rather than glass, a move that will make mobile devices unbreakable, lighter and bendable." via The Wall Street Journal

What is one problem in the display industry that engineers and manufacturers must address? "LCD part numbers can go into "end of life" status as display manufacturers eliminate the production of a specific part number from their production. The forecast and alert of this type of change is crucial to a company supporting a project that utilizes that particular display." via Display Alliance

Touch-sensitive plastic can ‘heal itself’ "The particles of nickel were added to the polymer to increase its mechanical strength and help make the material conductive. "This resulted in a polymer that was not only a good insulator, but an excellent conductor," Wang added. ...The team's goal now is to make the material stretchy and transparent, so that it can be used for wrapping and overlaying electronic devices or display screens." via Eureka Magazine

The Emergence of NFC in LCD screens "NFC like any other emerging technology is only really being exploited by true innovators such as Audi. However, it is likely that NFC will become somewhat of a standard within digital signage and display solutions, especially since over one third of us have smartphones. This means that digital signage projects will no longer rely on customers engaging with the displays through touch, scanning or QR codes but instead invite customer to simply stand a bit closer?" via Acquire Digital

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An IPS Competitor Emerges "While similar to IPS, PLS is designed to have a advantages over traditional IPS. First, it has a higher level of transmittance, so more light gets through each individual cell. ...Second, as each cell allows more light though, you can pack them tighter allowing for displays with a higher pixel-per-inch count while keeping light output higher." via AnandTech

Domestic LCD TV Consumption in China Retreats Dramatically "Other dramatic changes are sweeping the LCD TV supply chain in China. For instance, so-called semi-knockdown (SKD) and complete knockdown (CKD) service providers have emerged, producing TV boards with integrated chipsets and displacing traditional TV manufacturers from their own game in the process. Another development has seen the weakening of traditional design houses—their role taken over by semiconductor suppliers now able to provide total solutions for TV manufacturers." via iSuppli

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More is Better in LCD specs? "As display professionals, we know, that especially in small displays, more pixels = less aperture which equals a dimmer screen. The challenged performance of the screen in daylight, as seen in the image would be that much worse with a "retina display" per the author's terms. However, in the minds of many, more is always better even when their eye's tell them such is not the case." via Flat Panel Display Blog

iPad mini Teardown (3)] Film Substrate Employed for Touch Panel "The touch panel of the iPad mini uses a film (resin) substrate instead of a glass substrate. One of the advantages of replacing a glass substrate with a film is that it becomes possible to reduce the thickness of a touch panel." via Tech-On

Foxconn hunting for LCD manufacturing sites in USA "According to research and consulting firm NPD DisplaySearch, the industry is poised to increase revenues this year to $85 billion, a 12 percent jump over last year. In order to feed that demand, LCD makers have been building larger factories. Even older facilities are large. Sharp, Japan's biggest LCD maker, built a 4.8 million-square-foot LCD factory in 2004. That facility, in Kameyama, uses 48,000 tons of water a day, or 11 million gallons, nearly three times Fab 8's current requirements." via Times Union

Industrial displays get consumer technology "Links forged with Taiwanese glass suppliers has already paid off in the form of KOE 'Lite+' branded display modules. Although intended to be lower-cost options in its range, some of these have better than average specifications - including operation beyond the normal industrial temperature range." via ElectronicsWeekly

Rise of Chinese LCD firms threatens Taiwan makers "It is useless to hire a bunch of engineers from Taiwan to build a factory [in China]. The real valuable knowledge is how to operate a factory efficiently, which is much more complicated than people think,” AUO president Paul Peng told reporters in July. AUO has invested heavily in research and development, and has about 10,000 patents related to LCD panel manufacturing, Peng said" via Taipei Times

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