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3-atom-thick transistor promises ultrathin electronics
Researchers from Cornell University announced a breakthrough in transistor technology in the latest issue of the journal, Nature. The team has reportedly developed a novel and highly efficient method of producing an experimental material known as transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD). TMD is an exceedingly thin (but highly conductive) film, which makes it useful in many high-tech applications -- everything from solar cells to flexible, wearable gadgets -- but also makes it a huge pain to produce in appreciable quantities. That is, until now.
Mobile Miscellany: week of October 17, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 17, 2011: The HTC Rezound (codenamed the Vigor) started showing up in Cellebrite systems, just another indicator of its impending arrival -- and likely name. [Droid-Life] AT&T's current lineup of Windows Phones, such as the Samsung Focus, LG Quantum and HTC Surround, are now showing up as EOL -- End-of-life -- likely in preparation for the trio of incoming devices we saw earlier this week. [WMPowerUser] Cricket added another ZTE feature phone to its lineup this week, called the Memo (shown above). It's got a full QWERTY keyboard and is available for $100. [Cnet] Google Maps for Android was the beneficiary of yet another update. This time, version 5.11 makes one critical feature change: it offers different-sized maps for phones with different screen resolutions. Thus, if you have a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, you're not forced to download a map designed for a 4.3-inch qHD display, saving space on your phone in the process. [MobileBurn] Vodafone 360, launched in 2009 as a LiMo-based cloud synchronization and backup service, will be officially closed by the end of the year. The carrier stopped developing handsets that took advantage of the plan last year, so it really was a matter of time before this happened. [Wall Street Journal] Toshiba Mobile Display announced this week that it's working on a new type of mobile display optimized for wide-angle viewing. Dubbed the "Soludina," it'll be shown off at next week's FPD International in Japan. [Nikkei] Sprint announced a new plan called Wireless CapTel that's designed for those who are hard of hearing. The service, which can be used on Android devices, allows the caller to view conversations in real time as word-for-word captions on their phone's screen. [BusinessWire] Telus will officially launch the 4G Samsung Galaxy S II X on October 28th, according to its website. [Unwired View]
Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones
Toshiba just fired its own salvo in the pixel density wars at SID 2011. The company is showing off a range of LCDs for cellphones that top out at an almost imperceptibly fine 367ppi on its 4-inch HD (720 x 1280) model. Beyond just cramming more red, green, and blue dots in each inch, these panels also top the bar-setting Retina Display in the contrast department with an impressive 1,500:1 ratio. The company also brought a smaller 3.3-inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 864 to Display Week that hits a respectable 300ppi. They're not quite as impressive as these HAST LCDs, but who really needs to put 1080p in their pocket? (Want is a different story.) Of course, Engadget is on the scene and, if you're lucky, we'll let you live vicariously through us as we tour Toshiba's booth -- you know, as a reward for your loyal readership.
Microsoft's Twitter chatter suggests Danger is up to something -- Pink drawing near?
The other day, we happened to catch a tag on a tweet reading "from Danger." No biggie, really -- Sidekicks have had Twitter integration for a while now. Here's the thing, though: tweeting from a Sidekick plugs a "from Sidekick" on the end, not Danger -- and what's more, the Danger text links to Microsoft's home page rather than Sidekick's. It's starting to get juicy, right? Anyhow, these "from Danger" tweets have really picked up across dozens of accounts since December or so, to the point where we've got a constant cacophony of 'em today -- possibly a sign that these guys have a product in the works that's nearing completion. Danger... new product... Microsoft... ah, that's right, Pink! We haven't had any fresh intel on the alleged lovechild of Redmond's acquisition in some time -- it could be dead, for all we know -- but there's definitely something going on inside Microsoft's labs that involves Danger's legacy tech and headcount. Whatever it is, they've got a predisposition for the hashtag "#tmdp" (it used to be #tmd and changed at some point) -- we've no idea what it stands for, but we're curious to get your opinions. Anyhow, is this what we're going to see next month at MWC? Is WinMo 7 going to take a back seat yet again? Will it be a one-two punch where they reveal a whole slew of Danger and WinMo stuff at once? Heck, are they the same frigging product? Who knows, but hopefully we'll have it all sorted out within a few weeks' time.
Toshiba Matsushita Display teases handheld, high res, no glasses 3D
We swore we wouldn't fall for tech demos of Toshiba Matsushita Display's sexy optically compensated bend LCDs and their CRT-like ultra wide viewing angles and high refresh rates ever again but by adding autostereoscopic 3D (read: no glasses necessary) we're falling in love all over again. By adapting a 3D film for use with 3- and 9-inch displays, this year's CES demo promises simultaneous 2D and 3D viewing on the same display in high res. How close is OCB's curved, rather than horizontally or vertically aligned liquid crystal approach to reality? Your guess is as good as ours but for now we'll wait for some eyes-on time and throw it on the wait-and-wait-and-see heap with SED and the rest.
TMD announces 7 new LED backlit panels for laptops
While you patiently wait for your favorite [insert brand] laptop to move to LED backlighting, there's no crime in checking out some nekkid panels, eh? Toshiba Matsushita Display (TMD) announced 7 new LED backlit LCDs today ranging in size from 8.9- to 13.3-inches. That 13.3-incher will need 4W to power its 1280x800 (WXGA) resolution and 300cd/m2 brightness. These panels join similar glass already shown off by Samsung and LG.Philips earlier in the year. With LED backlit laptops already trickling in, can we please crank this up to a flood already dear vendors? Thanks. [Via Impress]
