Hitachi develops ultra-sharp mobile phone LCDs
updated 04:15 pm EST, Wed December 27, 2006
Hitachi Sharp Mobile LCDs
Electronics giant Hitachi has produced an extremely high resolution LCD made specifically for phones and similar handheld devices, Japan's Nikkei BP reports. It measures only 2.9 inches long but achieves an unprecedented resolution of 800x480, offering roughly five times the screen area of the 320x240 displays used in today's smartphones as well as higher-end, call-focused handsets. The feat was accomplished by rethinking the design of the back panel, Hitachi says. Since sharper resolutions require denser wiring that can block the backlight and dim the resulting image, the company reduced the size of the wiring itself and optimized the pixels to make better use of the available light. Hitachi expects the screen to be ideal for watching DVD- and NTSC-quality videos, neither of which has been an option with previous technology.
Production has begun today for the new LCD and should find its way into final devices early next year, though the company has not revealed its first customers or a specific timeframe for shipping products.
