Sprint plans to sell AMOLED phones from Samsung
updated 04:25 pm EDT, Thu August 6, 2009
AMOLED phone due at Sprint
An executive at Sprint said on Thursday the wireless provider will soon carry handsets from Samsung with advanced Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays. Such displays promise to bring brightness levels, energy consumption and screen resolution to levels beyond those of phones with conventional screens. Samsung already makes a few handsets that use AMOLEDs, including the Omnia HD/i8910, Impression and Ultra Touch, but they run on GSM networks incompatible with Sprint's choice of CDMA.
AMOLED displays do not require a backlight, making them more energy efficient. Because cost will be an issue, as with any emerging technology, Sprint will focus on introducing the AMOLED screens in high-end phones with advanced video playback capabilities.
The AMOLED phones at Sprint should begin shipping as soon as next year. A product manager at Samsung confirmed an AMOLED handset will be sold to Sprint. Samsung's Impression is the only AMOLED handset currently sold in the US market and is offered only by AT&T.
