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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 shows off 6-inch tablet display with 498ppi resolution
Toshiba showed off a 4-inch display for cellphones with a 367ppi resolution earlier this year, and it's now back with an even higher pixel density for its new 6.1-inch display for tablets (or possibly phones, at the rate things are going). This one comes in at an impressive 498ppi, which translates to a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 -- or more than enough for some "photo-realistic" images, according to Toshiba. As for the other key specs, it boasts a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 16.7 million colors, and 61 percent coverage of the NTSC color gamut -- plus viewing angles of 176 degrees both horizontally and vertically. What's more, Toshiba is even suggesting that the display could also be used for glasses-free 3D, which would cut the resolution in half but still be higher than other comparable displays. Unfortunately, there's no word on when it might actually hit some tablets, 3D or otherwise. Head on past the break for an up-close look at those pixels.
Toshiba's in-cell integrated 7-inch capacitive LCD ditches touch layer, extra girth (video)
Samsung's Super AMOLED may have beat Toshiba to the in-cell capacitive touch punch, but we're still happy to see other LCD panels dropping unnecessary layers. Featured in a GPS mock-up, Toshiba's 7-inch 1024 x 600 R&D display touts 10-point multi-touch over 38,400 sensors -- that's one touch sensor for every four pixels. It may not be the first LCD to abandon the standard touch layer for integrated capacitive support, but we wouldn't shy away from a tablet or embedded screen featuring this 1mm wonder. We'll have to wait though; Toshiba's in-cell tech is still in R&D, with no word when or if we might see it in commercial devices. Check out the video after the break for a quick hands-on. %Gallery-123862%
Toshiba declares victory in pixel density war: 367ppi coming to a phone this year (video)
We got the lowdown on Toshiba's latest four-inch LCD a couple of days ago, and today at SID 2011 we got up close and personal with the pixel-packed display. It's one thing to read about a 367ppi screen that shows native 720p video, and it's quite another to experience it in person. We can report that it is, in fact, as awesome as it sounds -- onscreen images were clear, crisp, and chromatically brilliant. Pixel density enthusiasts will also be happy to hear that Toshiba confirmed the display will make it to market this year. Of course, the rep wouldn't tell us which phone will take the iPhone 4's crown as the ppi champ, though we imagine it'll be something powered by little green bots. See the new king in action in the video after the break. %Gallery-123856%
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.
Toshiba reveals 7-inch LCD with integrated touch, just 1mm thick
Remember all that happy fuss over Samsung's Super AMOLED display, and its more recent Super AMOLED Plus? Well now Toshiba Mobile Display has jealously stepped into the ring with its own answer to the world's demand for thinner, lighter and less reflective LCDs. Its as-yet-unnamed technology seeks improvement in a roughly similar way to Super AMOLED, by fusing the capacitive touch layer and LCD. In so doing, Toshiba claims it can produce an integrated panel just 1mm thick, which it says is less than half the thickness of a conventional LCD touchscreen. Weight is also halved and surface reflection is reduced by 10 percent. Alas, Toshiba's press release does not provide the stats we really want -- a head-to-head comparison with Samsung's best efforts or, say, the Synaptics ClearPad 3250 which also melds touch layer and LCD. And perhaps to avoid confrontation in the mobile arena, Toshiba emphasizes the use of its technology in "vehicle-mounted" and "industrial" applications. Seems we will have to wait until the screen is exhibited in LA next month before we know whether it is really up for a fight.
Toshiba's new glasses-free 3D display tilts images and viewing angles your way (video)
Autostereoscopic (read: glasses-free) 3D screens sound like all the rage, but the narrow zones from which you can comfortably view their images have made them a dubious proposition. That's not stopping Toshiba Mobile Display, however, which recently came up with a novel idea for a self-adjusting display. By sticking a six-axis accelerometer in this 12.1-inch slate, the company can tilt the tablet's viewing angle as the tablet itself is tilted, letting viewers effectively look around 3D objects on screen, using software algorithms rather than the fancy lens-and-camera assembly that Microsoft's been prototyping. Toshiba figures it'll make a splash with e-tailers -- because who doesn't want to play with a prospective purchase in 3D space? -- but is mostly talking up the tech as a way to extend the limited 3D viewing angles of these sorts of displays. But enough jabber: see it for yourself after the break.
Toshiba Regza GL1 wants you to put down the glasses, enjoy the 3D
Toshiba might have abandoned OLED, but that doesn't mean the company is lacking ambition in the display-making field. Today it's using CEATEC 2010, Japan's biggest electronics expo, to make official that 21-inch glasses-free 3D prototype we've been hearing about. It's lost an inch in becoming a retail product, with the 20GL1 offering a 20-inch diagonal, but the important multi-parallax picture transmission (employing a lenticular lens setup as used in Philips' Dimenco) remains the same. The new set, accompanied by a smaller 12GL1 model, will be shipping in Japan this December, and if it really does what it promises, the rest of the world should not be far behind. Update: Japan's Impress Watch has more details for us, listing a 720p resolution for the 20-incher and a funky 466 x 350 on the 12-inch GL1. Prices are estimated at ¥240,000 ($2,885) and ¥120,000 ($1,443), respectively.%Gallery-104161%%Gallery-104163%
Toshiba shelves OLED production plans, focuses on LCDs and licking its wounds
Man, it's got to be tough for the proud guys and gals at Toshiba these days. First the company gets whooped in the optical media format wars, and now it's having to ingloriously bow out of the OLED race as well. Citing a recent uptick in LCD demand alongside the impact of the recent global economic crisis, Toshiba says its mass production plans for OLED displays have now been "frozen" and will be reviewed from scratch. That sounds like a company cutting its losses to us, which should make our fellow OLED enthusiasts all sorts of unhappy. There had better be some damn fine (and thin) LCDs in Toshiba's pipeline if it hopes to keep us sweet.
Toshiba's latest use for OCB LCDs: 3D glasses
Even after years of demos, we're not aware of Toshiba Mobile Display's OCB (Optically Compensated Bend) LCD panels actually making their way into shipping products, so here's hoping these large-bezeled 3D glasses on display at SID 2010 will be the ones to break through. Sure, the last time we saw OCB it was supposed to show us the way towards no-glasses-needed autostereoscopic screens but that was in 2009, when Law & Order was on, prototype iPhones weren't floating all over Korea and the company was called Toshiba Matsushita display. In this iteration the high speed, high contrast characteristics of the curiously aligned crystals in those LCDs are claimed to make the ideal 3D glasses technology with brighter images, less crosstalk and a wider field of view, but with similar specifications to existing hardware from RealD and others we'll probably be in for another all new / all old tech demo and more vapor in 2011.
Toshiba Mobile Display touts 21-inch glasses-free 3D HDTV, raises a few eyebrows
While we were fretting about what special tech Nintendo's 3DS would use to generate autostereoscopic imagery on its comparatively puny screen, Toshiba Mobile Display (and others) have been working on bringing that same headgear-free 3D to TV-sized panels. Employing a "multi-parallax" technique, the latest from the Toshiba spinoff firm promises "significant reduction in eye fatigue" as well as approximately a 30 degree horizontal viewing angle. The latter might be peanuts compared to a quality 2D display, but let's not begrudge being offered at least some positional flexibility. Other specs include a 1280 x 800 effective resolution and 480 nits of brightness, which are notable achievements when you consider that the 9-parallax implementation requires the generation of 9 separate images and therefore could be achieved with only an "ultra-high definition LCD module." We've sadly no info about this panel's potential for retail availability, but judging by the bezel-free picture we've been given, that might be a good way off from now.
