The 2008 iPhone display? Sharp's next gen multi-touch LCD revealed

Want to see the glass behind the iPhone's multi-touch panel? Well this ain't it, it's better. Sharp -- one of Apple's iPhone panel providers -- just unveiled their newest 3.5-inch, 320 x 480 pixel resolution multi-touch panel which does what its predecessor did in just half the thickness. The new 1-mm depth was achieved by integrating the optical sensor into each pixel while incorporating scanning functionality for fingerprint authentication or barcode and business card scanning. Right, with the appropriate underlying software of course. Sharp expects to adapt the new technology to multi-touch, glass panels as large as 12.1-inches. Sample LCDs will be made available in September before mass production beings in the Spring of 2008.

Update: Whoa, reader Tony C just reminded us of this Apple patent application. Sure, the jump from scanning business cards to having your screen become the webcam is pretty big. Still, it's not as crazy as it once sounded, eh?

Gallery: The 2008 iPhone display? Sharp's next gen multi-touch LCD revealed

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[Via Impress]

[tchiseen @ Aug 31st 2007 6:01AM]

gj engadget, for making yet another unrelated article into one about the iphone.

[Mike10010100 @ Aug 31st 2007 6:05AM]

Shut up tchiseen. Engadget went to other keynotes, like Microsoft and Sony. Also, what else can they compare it to? The new Nokia? Surely not. Don't tell me that when you look at it you don't think of the iPhone.

Anyhoooo... does this look like that picture of the google phone? Just saying the size and thickness looks the same.

[Joe @ Aug 31st 2007 6:52AM]

The 1mm depth is just the LCD.

[Tony C @ Aug 31st 2007 8:12AM]

@Joe: RTFA. Or even the blog for that matter. Sharp's panel integrates optical sensors along with each pixel of the LCD, so it doesn't need a separate touch sensitive overlay panel like all current systems use.

[Tony C @ Aug 31st 2007 8:19AM]

Oops. Sorry for the snipe, Joe, I read your comment wrong. I didn't get that you meant the "Google phone" wasn't just 1 mm until after I clicked the button. My mistake.

[Sean DL @ Aug 31st 2007 6:22AM]

Don't know how this is unrelated to the Apple, specially since they will be the largest buyer of said product.

But I guess people won't stop till anythingbutiphone.com shows up...

[Jonathan Allen @ Aug 31st 2007 6:28AM]

"fingerprint authentication or barcode and business card scanning"

awesome

[maximus @ Aug 31st 2007 7:52AM]

So the iPhone display is already out of date then?

lol I'd be pretty miffed if I'd just bought an iPhone and a year later or less they release a much improved one.

What a crap image though to show of the screens image quality.

[Tim @ Aug 31st 2007 12:03PM]

max, that is Apples typical product lifecycle. Look at the AppleTV or the first 4 iPod releases. If you bought early you were lucky to get 6 months out of the product before a much improved version hit the market. Early Apple adaptors always get screwed. But Apple fans chug the Kool-Aid by the gallon so they dont seem to care if Apple makes their newly purchased product old news in record time.

I learned early and now wait a least 8 months before buying any new Apple product. In this case it may be a year as Apple will save the changes until the competitors hit the market. Apple will want to capitalize on marketing the iPhone changes to trump competitors. After all, Apple is mostly marketing hype - iPhone & iPod excluded.

[Ayle @ Aug 31st 2007 11:15PM]

There is a new apple tv?

[Tony C @ Aug 31st 2007 8:06AM]

Isn't this technology exactly what last year's Apple's patent described?

http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/26/apple-patent-embeds-thousands-of-cameras-among-lcd-pixels/

[chris joseph @ Aug 31st 2007 8:11AM]

oh cool...

multi-touch fingerprint scanning + ATT's complicity in the DOJ's warrantless wiretapping = a larger fingerprint database

[Nando @ Aug 31st 2007 8:26AM]

Would the thinner panel help Apple incorporate the necessary 3G hardware into the iPhone without making it bulkier?

[Alex @ Aug 31st 2007 10:01AM]

Or GPS, for that matter.

[Russ @ Aug 31st 2007 9:26AM]

it'd be cool when video conferencing for both participants to be able to look each other in the face..

[mikey @ Sep 1st 2007 10:39AM]

as in edge/3g video conferencing? It's been over here in the uk for years now. And it's totally useless. the video quality is usable , but there's just no use for it.

your not missing much, believe me.

[Russ @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:29PM]

i thinking about when u video conference with someone over Skype/Messenger. both of you are looking at the face on your screen. so you see an image of someone looking down - not looking directly at the camera.

[Adam Rice @ Aug 31st 2007 10:11AM]

I look forward to using my phone as a page scanner. Putting optical sensors on each pixel is brilliant.

[JuggleNuts @ Aug 31st 2007 10:24AM]

I'll finally give into the iPhone if this is incorporated ... (and GPS).

[Once Optical @ Aug 31st 2007 11:08AM]

Toshiba Matsushita Display demonstrated a device just like this 3 years ago. A color display that can scan a business card.

[Tim @ Aug 31st 2007 12:09PM]

I was thinking about the same device. It could be Sharp didnt develop this display, just produced it based off Toshibas patent - with permission/payment of course.

[Andrew Rinas @ Sep 11th 2007 1:02PM]

I just want to know how to get one on the earlier release date this thing is wicked i dont care what it resembles iphone toshiba what ever i just cant wait to get one