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auoptronics posts

AU Optronics' miraculous LCD Panels can read fingerprints or UV levels

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Nov 5th 2008 at 12:29PM

Female? User of LCD panels? Have fingerprints that need read? Worried about skin cancer? If you answer "yes" to any or all of these questions, we have news that is sure to knock your sun-lovin' socks off. Among the items on display at this year's FPD International Exhibition in Yokohama are two exciting LCD panels: they're both 2.8 inches, and they're both manufactured by AU Optronics (a company that knows a thing or two about liquid crystal displays). The first panel functions as a fingerprint scanner -- it boasts a pixel count of 320 x 240, each pixel is equipped with four optical sensors, and sends its output to a 640 x 480 monitor. The other panel uses similar technology to measure the intensity of UV rays, numerically displaying the results on a scale of 0 to 11. According to the company, the UV reader "is targeted at female users who are concerned about the amount of UV light outdoors." There's no word yet on a UV reader for men, but you'll know as soon as we do.

ASUS readying touchscreen Eee PC and laptops for 2009 Windows 7 launch?

by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 16th 2008 at 4:47AM

With HP's touchscreen laptop looming on the horizon, out come the leaks of an ASUS touchscreen lappie scheduled for launch in the first half of 2009. Touchscreen Eee PCs too (finally, right?) if DigiTimes' sources at panel makers are correct (which they tend to be with regard to ASUS). According to the Taiwanese industry rag, ASUS will likely use either a 12.1-inch or 11.6-inch touchscreen panel developed by AU Optronics (AUO) or Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO). What's odd here is the claim by sources that the touch-panel notebooks "are expected to take advantage of Windows 7" and presumably the new Microsoft OS's multi-touch capabilities. Strange, since Windows 7 isn't officially expected until sometime in early 2010 -- a date looking more and more like a publicly padded goal to avoid the bashing Microsoft received for its Vista delays. The whispers certainly add a bit more credence to rumors of a 2009 release as expressed by Bill Gates himself, or more specifically June 3rd, 2009 as allegedly marked in the internal Microsoft calendar.

LG, AU Optronics said to be prepping 17.3-inch 16:9 LCD panels

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 1:09PM

As if we needed any more evidence that the 16:9 laptop bandwagon is already roaring right along, DigiTimes is now reporting that LG and AU Optronics are each readying some 17.3-inch panels boasting the increasingly common aspect ratio. If the usual unnamed "industry sources" are to be believed, those panels will supposedly be finding their way into laptops from Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, and Asustek, among others, although it's not clear when those will actually be showing up. Somewhat interestingly, those same sources also say that Samsung has no plans to produce 17.3-inch panels of its own, although at the rate these various slight changes in sizes keep cropping up, we wouldn't be surprised if that situation changed sooner rather than later.

[Via TG Daily]

AUO unveils curved, slim and an 8-inch multi-touch display

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 19th 2008 at 7:48AM

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]

AU Optronics builds "world's first" 16:9 24-inch MoniTV LCD for desktops

by Paul Miller, posted Mar 11th 2008 at 9:10AM

No consumers products have been announced yet, but we have a feeling AU Optronics could be on to something with its new "world first" LCD panel size -- which seems to at least be a first of its kind for consumer applications. Instead of the traditional 1920 x 1200 resolution and aspect ratio of normal "widescreen" 24-inch LCDs, the new 1080p MoniTV display is true 16:9 and 1920 x 1080, for perfectly matching that HD signal coming from the likes of your PS3, Xbox 360 or Blu-ray player. AU Optronics is banking on the trend of people watching TV and movies at their desks, and with a mere 14mm of thickness to the panel (pictured on the left), we're guessing this'll be a pretty attractive offering once it gets into the hands of manufacturers. AUO is building a range of MoniTV 16:9 panels to go along with, starting at 15-inch and running on up to 32-inches. Most will be available Q2 this year.

Hey Asus, where's the $199 Eee PC?

by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 22nd 2007 at 1:35AM

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 develops uber-thin mobile display

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 19th 2007 at 12:52AM

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?

BenQ demotes CEO after refusing his resignation in March

by Paul Miller, posted Jul 2nd 2007 at 1:27PM

As if you needed any more proof that BenQ is in heap big trouble, the latest mini-episode in this tragic soap opera has landed K.Y. Lee out of his spot as CEO over BenQ Corp, AU Optronics and the newly formed Qisda. He's sticking around as chairman -- and to catch the heat for the ongoing financial troubles and insider trading scandal -- but he's being "reshuffled" out of the top job at the company, which he tried to ditch in March when things were really looking rough. The insider stock trading case is set to hit the courts in the next few weeks, and while BenQ is still denying any wrongdoing on the part of its executives, things aren't really looking up for K.Y. Lee and his executive buddies... no matter how much restructuring they do.

AU Optronics squeezes more real estate onto mobile screens

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 10th 2007 at 5:07AM

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]

Apple and HP readying LED-backlit laptops?

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 3rd 2007 at 2:50PM

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]