The Display Industry News Roundup for 8.15.2012

Will CCFL Baklights be around Next Year "Color LCDs reached a tipping point where there ceased to be any cost advantage to monochrome. Now we may have just such a tipping point in LCD backlights." via Flat Panel Display Blog

Planar Systems' CEO Discusses F3Q12 Results "In the past 18 months or so, our strategy has shifted more towards building innovative differentiated standard products such as our Matrix product family where we can leverage our investments and drive volume cross larger customer sets." via Seeking Alpha

Industry insiders square off on the future of kiosks "Ken Lonyai, kiosk hardware and software developer, in response to Bowers, took the flip side and argued that mobile devices will narrow the kiosk field and cull the industry with Darwinian results." via Self Service World

Greenhouses To Grow Interactive Digital Signage? "Applying SFCS technology (Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing) to greenery means that ordinary plants can detect multiple frequencies of electrical signals. This is a jump ahead of the single frequency detection seen in standard capacitive touch sensing technology currently used in laptop trackpads, digital audio players, computer displays, mobile phones and tablets." via Noventri

Semi-Set + BMS: New LCD TV OEM Model "Through the new semi-BMS business model, Samsung is gaining strong leverage from its competitive supply base, both internally and externally." via Display Search

A new photoconductive AFM module enables precise OLED measurements "The new modules enables sample illumination while performing nanoscale electrical characterization. Bruker says that the new module (combined with their PeakForce TUNA technology) enables the highest resolution photoconductivity and nanomechanical mapping for OLED (or OPV) device samples." via OLED-Info

LG Display Tablet Panel Sales Revenue Climbs in Q2 "At the same time, the South Korean electronics giant indicated it would convert some of its current Generation 6 amorphous-silicon liquid crystal display (a-Si LCD) fab production capacity into low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) LCD likely to be used for smartphones—a move that is believed would allow LG to meet future panel demand for smartphones, such as the new Apple iPhone." via iSuppli

CPT to feature new technologies at Touch Taiwan "In the Innovation section, CPT will feature transparent and wide viewing angle displays, which industry observers say will be the mainstream for vendors to display product information. The observers said the screens will also be used in the architectural, advertising and public sectors and will see expansive growth in the years to come. ...Touch Taiwan will run from August 29-31 at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall." via DigiTimes

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Large-sized panel shipments to increase in August "Large-sized LCD panel shipments are expected to increase in August as downstream brand customers in the panel industry are stocking up their reserves to prepare for the traditional busy season in upcoming months." via DigiTimes

55" OLED Screens 8 to 10 Times More Expensive to Produce "According to DisplaySearch, LG's 55" W-OLED screen panels with white, red, green and blue diodes are eight times more expensive to produce than equivalent-sized LCD panels. Samsung's OLED panels are reported to be 10 times more expensive to make!" via Digital Versus

Thinking This iPad Mini Thing Even Througher "But if you shrink the device enough, and reduce the weight enough, would such a device still need a bezel surrounding the display of the same proportions as the iPad-as-we-know-it? Maybe not." via Daring Fireball

Kazuo Hirai on Where He's Taking Sony "As you probably know, we dissolved our joint venture with Samsung so that we are now able to go into the open market to get the best pricing for our LCD panels. We also dissolved our joint venture with Sharp for the same reason. So that’s giving us more competitive edge." via Bloomberg Businessweek

Here’s A Sneak Preview Of The Pebble Smart Watch UI "...since the display uses e-paper technology, the battery lasts up to seven days — way longer than your average LCD display would." via TechCrunch

Touchscreen displays will become a $31.9B market by 2018 "More than 200 suppliers have entered the market, providing technology in 12 different categories of displays. The aging resistive touchscreen technology still has 97 suppliers, up from 64 in 2009 — all providing screens that can detect touches from any kind of object well but are not really meant for multifinger touches. Projected capacitive screens, which have risen dramatically due to the popularity of multitouch (which uses multiple fingers on a screen), has grown from 27 suppliers in 2009 to 102 in 2012." via Venture Beat

The Future of Thermal Mitigation Technology for Electronics Showcased at Advancements in Thermal Management 2012 Conference "The Advancements in Thermal Management conference has announced its 2012 dates, Sept. 18-19, 2012 in Denver, Co. This event features educational presentations on the latest technology for managing temperature in electronics, including cooling, thermal imaging, temperature sensing and control, thermal interface materials and board level heating technology. ...The co-located events will provide opportunities to network with potential new clients and share a combined exhibit hall floor, which is open to all attendees." via MarketWatch

RESEARCH SHOWS CONSUMER TVS INFILTRATING PUBLIC DISPLAY MARKET ""This focus on higher-margin, larger-size displays is welcoming news—not just for display brands but for their global integrators alike. With a focus on technologies that have relevance to specific end-market needs, other players in the digital signage ecosystem also benefit by avoiding price comparisons against commoditised TVs," noted Chris Connery, NPD DisplaySearch vice president of PC and Large Format Commercial Displays." via inAVate

Sharp shares fall amid fears of worsening losses "Analysts have cited worries over weak demand for liquid crystal display televisions, its main product, as Sharp continues to lose ground to rivals such as Samsung. Sharp is also under pressure from its creditors Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ to restructure its business further in order to receive new loans." via BBC News

Multivac at Fachpack: Labelling, printing and inspection via one user interface "The conveyor belt labeller is equipped with MULTIVAC's HMI 2.0 human-machine interface, in which the MULTIVAC vision system for quality control and the MULTIVAC TTO thermal transfer printer are also integrated. "Both the operation of the labeller and the printer, as well as the operation, parametrisation and display of er-ror graphics and diagnostic functions for the vision system, are carried out via one and the same HMI 2.0", explains Daniel Siegenbrink, the Control Technology Manager at MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection. " via Packaging Europe

Chimei Innolux to Win 40%-50% Share of White-brand Tablet PC Touch-panel Market "In addition to sales in China, many Chinese white-brand tablet PC makers also export products to other nations. So, the annual demand for touch panels for white-brand tablet PCs this year is expected to reach some 60 million units, with 7-inch models as the mainstream and followed by 10-inch ones. Chimei Innolux aims to ship more than 25 million touch panels for white-brand tablet PCs, accounting for 40% to 50% of the application market, Hsu said. " via CENS

SAMTEL DISPLAY SYSTEMS IS NOW 'SAMTEL AVIONICS & DEFENCE "Samtel Display Systems Ltd. - one of India's premier organisations in the domain of avionics and defence has announced its change of name to 'SAMTEL AVIONICS & DEFENCE SYSTEMS LTD.' effective immediately. The new name aligns with the company's evolving business focus as it grows into new domains of opto-electronics and built-to-print, besides displays for cockpits and military applications." via Melodika

PAT Avionics shows G-HULP heads-up-display system for recreational aircraft "Like the military versions, the G-HULP HUD uses laser projection technology, superimposing information on a transparent 7 x 3.5-inch (178 x 89 mm) display attached to the top of the instrument panel in front of the pilot." via Gizmag

Is This The New iPhone Screen Technology? "In particular, one section describes how in-cell technology can be used in conjunction with in-plane-switching (IPS) panels — the technology used by the current iPhone 4S’s Retina display." via Gizmodo

Kinze Options ISOBUS Capability "The connection also includes compatibility with John Deere's GreenStar display, and allows produces to use the equipment without having to change monitors, displays, wiring harnesses, or electrical connectors with different implements from different manufacturers." via Farm Futures

Optical Gas Imaging - New Course Announced "FLIR Systems (France) has been a leading light in the commercialisation of thermal imaging cameras across all wavelengths in the infrared spectrum. This has led to some important developments, including the application of infrared to gas detection. ...This course is suitable for both those who already own an optical gas imaging camera, as well as those considering using the technology in their facility." via Environmental Technology

The New Narrow Touch Screen Kiosk From Kiosks4business "For customers wishing to deploy touch screen interactive kiosks there is often a trade off between screen size (resolution) required for the application and limited space to install the kiosks. Finding a good position to place new technology in retail, reception or other environments has to be considered carefully and a bulky kiosk design does not help." via Sequoia Group News