Samsung ships 16.7m color OLED display tech

Samsung today revealed that it had begun mass production of the circuitry for the world's first active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, opening the door to their use in cellphones, media players, and other devices in the near future. Based on conducting electricity between two organic layers, the technology allows Samsung to power a 320x240 screen that can still reproduce 16.7 million colors at once -- enough to match much larger displays. As the organics are luminous on their own, they suffer none of the ghosting effects seen with LCDs in scenes with fast movement.

Blacks are also more natural as the device does not have to light every pixel regardless of the color. This proves ideal for watching videos and has the incidental benefit of extending battery life, Samsung says. The Korean firm has not named the intended recipients of the AMOLED hardware but is believed to be using the technology itself for future cellphones and media players in addition to supplying the components to rival companies.