Hitachi preps low-cost 4.5-inch, 720p mobile display
updated 06:50 am EDT, Wed September 28, 2011
New process to develop lower-cost mobile displays
Hitachi is prepping a high-resolution 720p capable 4.5-inch mobile display. Although delivering a Apple Retina display beating 329 pixels per inch and using IPS technology, the display is manufactured using more cost-effective processes. Instead of using a low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) technology as most LCD displays, Hitachi is using a new approach that is amorphous silicon-based and which is cheaper to make.
Running at 1280x720, the new Hitachi display offers 500 cd/m2 brightness and 16.77 million color support. Although most IPS displays can support a viewing angle of 178 degrees, the new panel achieves a still respectable 160-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angle. The display utilizes a 16:9 aspect ratio and is able to reproduce 70 percent of the NTSC color spectrum. Its contrast ratio is 1100:1.
Hitachi has also reworked the typical pixel aperture that requires less backlighting to help display the image. This is likely to result in better battery life for mobile devices as most battery drain comes from powering an LCD’s backlight.
Although having announced the new display, Hitachi has not said when it expects the first devices using the new displays will begin shipping.
