Samsung White-LED Display

Samsung today unveiled three LCDs that it says will improve the vividness of characteristically dull notebook displays, including the company's first-ever small white-LED display. A 15.4-inch display with the same 1440x900 resolution as the MacBook Pro now has a pure white LED panel that more efficiently boosts image quality while also lowering the typical power draw. The panel can reach dynamic contrast ratios as high as 10,000:1 while consuming just 2W of power in demanding conditions; the power use is 40 percent lower than the already more efficient LED backlights on the market today, Samsung claims.

The Korean firm also sought to break up the longstanding approach to portable LCDs by introducing two extra wide-ratio displays. Instead of adopting the 16:10 ratio of most widescreen computer LCDs, the new 16- and 18.4-inch models meet the same 16:9 ratios and resolutions as HDTVs and are a much better fit for widescreen movies. Both models are more than twice as efficient with their screen space as a 16:10 display, according to the company. Either is also much more color-rich than most notebooks, with the 16-inch screen displaying 60 percent color saturation (versus 40 percent) and the larger 18.4-inch screen showing an even deeper 90 percent. At 1366x768, the 16-inch LCD is sharper than 720p video while the 18.4-inch LCD fits the full 1080p HD resolution at 1920x1080.

The displays on show this month at the FPD International expo are prototypes and are not due for immediate production. 16:9 displays are scheduled to enter full production during the first half of 2008, while the white-LED screen will be ready by the second half of that year. No portable computer makers have been officially named as candidates for the screens despite the 15.4-inch model's similarity to an existing panel used by Apple. [via Akihabara]

By Electronista Staff