About five months ago, Amazon introduced its revised Kindle 2 ebook reader to the world at a price of $359. Today, Amazon is lopping $60 from that price, making the Kindle 2 just $299. Check it out on Amazon.
Record Month in June Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) announced on July 8, 2009 its combined June 2009 TFT-LCD related revenues of NT$ 26.7 billion, an increase of 15.3 percent month-over-month. CMO set a new record for its monthly large-sized LCD panel shipments with about 7.2 million units shipped in June, up 13.1 percent month-over-month. Small/medium LCD panel shipments increased 13.5 percent month-over-month to 12.5 million panels.
Strong Second Quarter In the second quarter of 2009, CMO’s combined TFT-LCD related revenues increased 58.8 percent quarter-over-quarter to NT$ 70.3 billion. Large-size LCD panel shipments also increased, up 44.3 percent quarter-over-quarter, to 13.3 million units, a new record. CMO shipped 35.4 million small and medium-sized panels, a 52.3% increase quarter-over-quarter.
China Factor CMO along with AU Optronics (AUO) have been tapped by the Chinese government to supply LCD panels. And the monthly and quarterly shipment results show the significance of demand coming from China. Will this continue for CMO and AUO? As long as China continues to spend. (more…)
Finally, Sharp introduced its LE700 line of LCD TVs that make use of edge-lit LED backlight technology instead of CCFL. The LE700 line will cost of 32 (LC-32LE700UN), 40 (LC-46LE700UN), 46 (LC-46LE700UN) and 52-inch (LC-52LE700UN) sizes costing US$1099, $1699, $2199 and $2799, respectively. The LCD TV panels are manufactured from the company’s latest G10 TFT LCD fab located in Sakai, Japan. Sharp announced that these LCD TV panels will feature deeper black levels than previous models. Response time is a respectable 4ms and all feature a motion-blur-busting 120Hz. An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the screen based on the room’s brightness levels. Dynamic contrast ratio is a staggering 2,000,000:1, but don’t let that fool you; it doesn’t have local dimming. Gizmodo Australia’s Matt Buchanan is flabbergasted at the lack of local dimming.
It must be noted that edge-lit LED backlighting and local dimming do not go together, at the moment. I am sure engineers at LG Display, Samsung, AU Optronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), Sharp, etc. are working on it to make sure that Matt and others who are eagerly waiting this combination of technologies are happy. I have heard from an industry source that we should expect edge-lit LED backlit LCD TVs to sport local dimming capabilities in 2010.
Source: Dealerscope, Gizmodo Australia
LG Electronics is moving. The company plans to move its LCD TV factory from Mexicali to Reynosa by September. LG will also completely close down mobile phone production in Mexico and instead shift to Korea and China. 500 jobs will be lost at the Mexicali LCD TV factory but 1200 new jobs will be created at the Reynosa plant. LG will invest US$100 million in the project.
In order for this shift from Mexicali to Reynosa to work, LG Electronics will need to move its offices too, from San Diego to possibly Hidalgo, which would significantly reduce the cost of operations. It would also bring manufacturing operations a bit closer to LG’s US headquarters, which is located in New Jersey.
Source: PC World
LG has sold 21 million of its Chocolate mobile phone. In August, LG will be unveiling the second generation Chocolate. What’s so special? The 21:9 aspect ratio display with a 800 x 345 resolution! The display will be larger than 3-inches. We’ve seen a 21:9 aspect ratio already: Philips Cinema 21:9. I guess the BL-40, the model number for the second generation Chocolate, will be perfect for watching ripped DVDs with wider-than 16:9 aspect ratios.
Source: YTN
Samsung‘s XL2370 is a 23-inch 1080p LCD monitor that sports an edge-lit LED backlight. Response time is a lighting 2ms and because of the use of edge-lit LED backlighting the XL2370 should be pretty thin. Dynamic contrast ratio is stated as 5,000,000:1, which means almost nothing. Samsung claims the XL2370 is the company’s highest performance monitor. If that is the case, then Samsung’s best isn’t all that great it seems.
First of all the monitor is definitely not height adjustable and it doesn’t seem like you can pivot it either, thanks to the Touch of Color design. No 120Hz? That’s too bad since the 16:9 aspect ratio looks like it is geared towards those who want to watch some HD on the XL2370. As you can see from the picture, the viewing angle from below (not that you’d watch HD from that angle) is pretty terrible, thanks also to the reflection and glare.
The edge-lit LED backlight reduces power consumption by 40 percent compared to other 23-inch LCD monitors–a good thing. So the only good features about the XL2370 is that it is thin and consumes less energy. If you’re a fan of the Touch of Color design, then that’s a plus too. The 23-incher is slated to ship in Korea in mid-July.
If it looks like a netbook, smells like netbook, it is most likely a netbook. Sony can say whatever it wants, the VAIO W is a netbook. The W features a 10.1-inch LCD sporting a 1366 x 768 resolution and is powered by Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom. For a 10-inch netbook, the VAIO W has a lot of pixels. For some the fonts at their default settings on Windows might be a bit too small. The pixels are powered by Intel’s underpowered GMA 950, unfortunately. And just like any other netbook, the keyboard will be a bit too small for most average folks. The W doesn’t look very sleek but is more on the cute side and seems to be geared for those who are playful. More pictures over at Engadget Japanese.
AU Optronics (AUO) the largest LCD manufacturer in Taiwan will purchase a 50 percent share in M. Setek Co., Ltd. of Japan for US$125 million. K. Y. Lee, Chairman of AUO stated his optimism in the company’s venture into the energy industry:
This will mark a major step forward for AUO’s endeavor in energy business. We are very much looking forward to collaborating with M.Setek, jointly bringing greater inputs to solar energy sources and providing better renewable energy solutions.
M. Setek manufacturers polycrystalline silicon and will give AUO a foot into the solar energy business. M. Setek produces monocrystalline silicon wafers and recently diversified into polycrystalline silicon wafers, which the company can manufacture 3,000 metric tons annually that can be used to make solar cells that generate about 300 megawatts. Other Taiwan-based companies have entered into the solar energy industry including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC), Formosa Plastics Corp. and Tatung Corp.
AUO established a 100 percent owned energy company called AUO Energy Taiwan Corp. (AET) with Max Cheng presiding as chairman in May 2009. AET is focused on developing its capabilities to provide integrated technical support for energy systems, extensive value-added services such as solar energy systems for commercial and residential applications.
Source: Japan Today, Solar Buzz
LG Display plans upgrade its G8 TFT LCD fabrication plant to increase the input capacity to beyond 83,000 glass substrate per month. The company is responding to the current LCD TV panel shortage. According to Do-hoi Koo, VP of LG Display and head of the company’s G8 plant:
The global LCD industry is growing by an average 10 percent every year. Therefore we should secure at least an annualized 10-percent production growth to maintain and catch up with the market demand.
LG Display’s G8 LCD fab cost KRW3.1 trillion and began volume production just three months ago. In that time the G8 fab has already reached its maximum input capacity of 83,000 glass substrates per month with yields exceeding 90 percent. This bodes well for component suppliers like Corning and Asahi that supply LCD glass substrates.
The Coca-Cola Company has a new beverage dispensing machine and it is called Freestyle. Freestyle has a touch sensitive 15.1-inch LCD using capacitive technology. So you touch the drink you want and out it comes when you push your glass in. The company chose Zytronic to supply the touch panel for its new Freestyle beverage dispenser. The Freestyle dispenser gives you more than 100 different brands to choose from in a single free-standing unit. Zytronic’s ZYBRID is a customized touch sensor that uses the company’s Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT) that is made up of ultra-fine capacitors embedded within a pure glass panel. The 15.1-inch LCD is mounted behind a molded polycarbonate full-front facia. Cool.
DisplayBlog is written and produced by Jin Kim. Subscribe via RSS.
