Twice: According to Twice, Toshiba will procure LCD panels from AUO and CMO. Contrary to what Twice is reporting, the LCD joint venture among Toshiba, Matsushita and Hitachi is not Alpha IPS, it is IPS Alpha. LG is providing plasma panels to Toshiba while there has been a 300% expansion in LCD TV final assembly at the company's TMX plant in Mexico where 26" and larger LCD TVs are assembled. Circuit-board assembly and plasma assembly has been moved to Asian factories. To ensure supply keeps pace with TV growth rates, new Asian plasma TV final assembly operations are being ramped up. Microdisplay models are shifting to 1080p, according to Scott Ramirez, VP Marketing, Toshiba TV.
LG.Philips LCD, PAIZ: Back in September 7, 2005, LPL announced that it plans to build a LCD module production plant in Wroclaw, Poland. LPL is the first to announce such a production factory in Europe. LPL planned an initial capacity of 3 million modules per year with an investment of 429 million euros by 2011. By 2011, the Wroclaw plant will have a an annual capacity of 11 million units. The focus will be on modularizing 26", 32", 37" and 42" LCD TVs. Western Europe with about 330 million in population captures roughly 30% of the world's TV market. North America, or more accurately, the US, captures another 30%. Without a production base near Europe, and with very high taxes for anything made outside of Europe, it was no surprise that some LCD manufacturers would add a module factory base near Europe.
LPL followed through with its plans and started to break ground for the LCD module plant. On June 14, LPL announced that it held a ground-breaking ceremony for its new module plant in Wroclaw, Poland. Many dignitaries attended including the Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, LPL's Vice Chairman and CEO Bon Joon Koo, Wroclaw Mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz, and Kobierzyce Commune Mayor Ryszard Pacholik. LPL plans to commence mass production in March 2007 with an initial capacity of 3 million module per year, just as planned.
CIO: The company claims its 7.1' e-paper with 1536×2048 pixels is the world's highest resolution and approximates an A6-sized paper (105mm x 14mm). Flexible memory chips are used and is incorporated into the plastic substrate, enabling the screen to bend. The screen has E-Ink technology.
The only value-add that flexibility adds to displays is the enhanced durability. That's it. In most cases, from what I know, people prefer flat screens to curved screens. Didn't we already go through this phase with TVs? Rollable displays? I don't think so. Foldable? Not even possible if you want a seamless display. The 1536×2048 pixel format is very nice and should bring about some very crisp text.
Facts: With AUO reporting that May large-sized LCD panel shipments were down 1.5% from April, Corning‘s stock price may have been impacted. Roughly two weeks prior to AUO’s announcement, Corning forecasted a 5% lower sales for Q2.
Opinion: Any downward movements in panel shipments will impact Corning since Corning is the leading provider of LCD glass to major LCD manufacturers such as AUO, Samsung and LPL. However, lower panel shipments does not automatically mean less glass demand due to the industry-wide shift to larger panels such as LCD TVs that leads to less units given a constant capacity.
Source: Forbes
[tags]Corning, LCD Glass, AUO, Samsung, LG Display, LPL, LCD TV, AU Optronics, Display Manufacturer[/tags]
The BRAVIA XBR3, the top of the line XBR, series include full HD pixel formats: 1920 x 1080. Models include the KDL-46XBR3, a 46" LCD TV with 1920 x 1080. The surprising bit is its KDL-40XBR3, a 40" with the same pixel format! You will have to pay for it: 46XBR3 at $5000 and 40XBR3 at $4000. Available in September. Another interesting info: 5 bezel colors of red, white, blue, black and brown. Brown? Eck. Supplier of the LCD would be S-LCD (G7 fab), the joint venture between Samsung and Sony.
Source: Yahoo, Sony
[tags]Sony, BRAVIA XBR, KDL-46XBR3, KDL-40XBR3, 1080p, 1920 x 1080, Full HD, S-LCD, Samsung[/tags]