AU Optronics (AUO) is tooting the "world's first" horn this morning with its new curved TFT-LCD process on glass substrate. They've also got the world's slimmest -- 0.63mm -- TFT-LCD available in both 1.9-inch and relatively massive 8-inch versions, the latter boasting a 400cd/m2 brightness and 2.1-gram weight. Not bad, but they can't hold a candela to future generation OLEDs. Perhaps most interesting, though, are a pair of in-cell, multi-touch displays offered at 4.3- and 8-inches. The panels are said to offer superior anti-glare properties while manufacturing the multi-touch feature directly into the LCD cell without necessitating any additional glass. The 4.3-inch panel hits mass-production this quarter. Feel free to speculate on which MID devices might sport 'em.

[Via DigiTimes]

Last week Asus finally revealed pricing and specs for their much anticipated Eee PC ultra-portable laptop. Anticipated not so much for the specs -- 7-inch LED-backlit LCD, 2 to 8GB of flash storage, up to 1GB memory, WiFi, and webcam -- but for the low, low $199 retail price. Rightly, more than a few of us were dismayed when the entry-level model was revealed to actually cost as much as US$358 in Taiwan and an expected $300 (pre-tax) price when launching Stateside before the month is out. The culprit? Well, according to DigiTimes' Taiwanese component insiders the relatively steep price is in large part due to an unexpectedly high cost for the 7-inch LCD panels. Asus had expected to source the panels for about $15 each but found themselves paying AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) up to twice as much for the hardware. Feel better for knowing? Yeah, didn't think so.

AU Optronics isn't messing around when it comes to improving the displays that you're forced to look at each time that boss / SO / telemarketer rings you up, and just months after developing a screen with a sub-one-millimeter border, the firm is now tooting its horn again after crafting what it calls the "world's thinnest 1.9-inch mobile device panel." The unit measures in at just 0.69-millimeters, and since we know it's tough to visualize something that skinny, how's this for reference? It's about "13-percent slimmer than a credit card." Granted, it doesn't seem to include any type of protective covering, but it is said to weigh just 2.2-grams and boast 400 nits of brightness. Just make sure you exercise caution when smashing through your contact list in a fit of fury on this thing, okay?

AU Optronics seems to know a thing or two about LCDs, and the engineering minds behind the scenes have apparently developed a few mobile screens that replace those wide borders with more pixels. The firm will be showing off its new 2.2-inch transflective panel with the "world's slimmest border of 0.9-millimeters" and its 2.7-inch panel which touts the "world's highest contrast ratio" (for its size, we presume) of 2,100:1, which just barely edges Sharp's iteration. The near-borderless display is reportedly "a half size smaller" than existing renditions, and the 2.7-incher claims to be uber-bright and offer up an unusually wide viewing angle as well. Unfortunately, it sounds like this technology won't be making its way up the LCD food chain, as one researcher noted that what you see here will be "mobile device-exclusive."

[Via FarEastGizmos]

While nobody really knows what Mr. Jobs has planned for next week's Macworld keynote, DigiTimes has a report claiming that LED-backlit laptops are coming down the pike, and if true, will be hitting more than MacBook Pros. According to a rather sure-sounding account, Apple and HP are both aiming to launch lappies in the second quarter of this year with LED-based LCD panels. Purportedly aimed to showcase the sexy interfaces that await us in Windows Vista and OS X 10.5, the screens would be derived from suppliers such as "Nichia or Cree" and tout a "brightness level of over 1,680 nits." Additionally, no model names were handed out as potential candidates for the LED upgrade, but with refreshed laptop models from both firms essentially sure to hit within a matter of months, it wouldn't be too surprising to see such upgrades make the cut. Nevertheless, we've seen our fair share of certainties turn out bogus, so per usual, we'd recommend a healthy dose of table salt with this one as well.

[Via Electronista]

LCD manufacturers eCinema and AUO have both been boasting about breakthroughs in LCD technology recently, promising LCD monitors that rival bulky CRTs in picture quality. eCinema's display (seen above), boasts a massive 30,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,000 to 4,000 steps of grey, as opposed to the 256 currently found on most LCDs. What's more, they say the first display using the technology, the 40-inch DCM40HDR, will be available by the end of the year. They didn't, however, disclose the price (we'll just pretend for a minute that we can afford one). In comparison, AUO's LCDs seem a bit lackluster, with only a 1200:1 contrast ratio, although the company says its HiColor Technology with LED backlight will push the display to over 100% color saturation and the promised 4ms response time ain't too shabby either. No word yet on availability of displays using AUO's tech yet, although they say it's ready to go and can be applied to both WXGA (1366 x 768) and full 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolutions.

Read - eCinema
Read - AUO