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Samsung to mass produce 3.3-inch touch-embedded AMOLED panels
Need a mystery to keep you bewildered? Here's one: that layer of nothingness between the touch-sensing glass and the display on your phone. Whatever that is, Samsung's about to blow it away with a new 3.3-inch 800 x 480 AMOLED touchscreen coming in March. The magic lies in the on-cell touch technology -- 0.001mm-thick capacitive touch sensors are deposited between the panel's substrate and the bottom polarizer film, thus removing the usual touchscreen glass cover and the gap that follows. If all goes well, Samsung should be delivering thinner and lighter phones with slightly brighter touchscreens in a few months' time, or possibly phones in the current package but with bigger batteries. Sorry, LCD, but we've got a new crush to focus on.
Mitsubishi to introduce preposterously large 149-inch OLED TV at ISE 2010
Yeah, you can snag a TV larger than this, but good luck finding a 150-inch set with an OLED panel. In a presumed effort to quietly exert superiority over those "other guys," Mitsubishi is purportedly planning to unveil a 149-inch OLED TV at ISE 2010, which kicks off in earnest next week -- though, we have to say, we sure hope it's not one of those modular units that we saw at CEATEC. Unfortunately, the native resolution of just 1,088 x 640 is downright boring, but we're forcing ourselves to focus on the positives here. Essentially, something like this wouldn't have much use outside the world of digital signage, but man, talk about making an impact on to-be customers. So, Mitsu -- when's the 1080p 4K version coming out? Update: Ugh -- looks as if this will be based around the modular technology we spotted at CEATEC. So much for our hopes and dreams.
Apple rumor roundup: future of media edition
Now that Apple's officially announced an event to show off its "latest creation" on the 27th, the rumors and gossip are about to get even more out of hand -- eventually we expect them to take flight and start raiding small towns for soda water and appetizers. In the meantime, however, we've got the latest batch of somewhat-sober whispers to tide us over, so let's run through 'em, shall we? The rumor: The iPhone Blog points us to a China Times piece setting the tablet's screen size at 9.7 inches. (We covered the 22-inch touchscreen iMac rumor separately.) Our take: At this point we've heard pretty much every screen size from eight inches to 11, so we're not making a call either way on this one. We will say that the only other product with a 9.7-inch screen we can think of off-hand is the Kindle DX -- a relatively simple device that's still so large and heavy we generally hold it with two hands. Just something to think about. The rumor: Ars Technica talks to the director of the OLED Association, who rules out a 10.1-inch AMOLED screen by saying "there's no real production of 10.1-inch panels." Oh, and the only place to buy those would be Samsung, really, and Sammy doesn't have the capacity. Our take: We never thought a 10.1 OLED screen was likely: not only are prices insane, but OLED still has terrible daylight viewing issues. The Ars piece is well worth a read, though -- it's a nice look at the state of OLED.
Samsung's WiFi-enabled CL80 adds touch of AMOLED to 14MP sensor
Samsung's AMOLED obsession continues unabated as it has just taken the official wraps off the 3.7-inch touchscreen-equipped CL80. Already well detailed in an earlier leak, this shooter crams a 7x optical zoom lens plus WiFi and Bluetooth antennae inside one of those unreasonably thin enclosures that are all the rage these days. It's the twenty-teens now, so naturally you get a jumbo 14.2 megapixel sensor with optical image stabilization as well as a 720p movie mode. Coming out this spring, the CL80 has already garnered a 2010 CES Innovation Award, but if you can settle for a 3.5-inch conventional LCD and do without the wireless options, Samsung will sell you the otherwise identical TL240 at a presumably more affordable price point this February. Dive past the break for the full PR and specs. %Gallery-81298%
IDTV debuts AMOLED-equipped MyGoTV portable television
What's this? A new PMP? A slightly chubby cellphone of some sort? No, it's actually something called a "portable TV," which apparently lets you watch TV and, well, not much else. If other forms of media or functionality don't concern you, however, you'll no doubt be happy to know that this new MyGoTV from IDTV is apparently the world's first such device equipped with a 3.4-inch AMOLED display, and that it'll let you pick up both analog and digital TV signals. Sold? Then you can grab this one right now for $169, though it will supposedly go up to $199 at some point.
Samsung flirts coyly with 7-inch AMOLED Digital Photo Frame
We know exactly what you were thinking when you first heard the news that Kodak was selling its OLED business to LG: 1) wait, Kodak had an OLED business, and b) who the hell will I buy my $1,000 OLED digital photo frame from now? The latter part of this conundrum has just been answered by Samsung who will unveil its 700Z Digital Photo Frame here at CES. Sammy's offering boasts a 7-inch AMOLED display, 4GB of internal memory, Bluetooth with video support. Unfortunately, the frame's million-to-1 contrast ratio isn't enough to distract this product model from her dreams of beauty pageant stardom.
Samsung announces two PMPs, one for fitness gurus, one made of glass
We expect there to be no shortage of hot new PMPs announced this week, so manufacturers are looking for something -- anything -- to differentiate theirs from the rest. Samsung has two interesting angles for its latest players, the first being the MyFit, an 8GB model with integrated sensors to detect fat and stress, plus the typical accelerometer to measure your activities, and apps that can help you keep hydrated and even stop smoking -- assuming you ever started. Oh, and it plays music, too. Then there's the Ice Touch, a 16GB model with a two-inch AMOLED screen that's transparent, much like the Xperia Pureness, but with more colors and fewer stunned looking models. The device itself is said to have a case made of tempered glass, which should make those accidental drops onto concrete a little more exciting, and it packs support for a wide variety of audio and video formats, lossless and high-definition, respectively. No pricing on either, but we'd expect the glass one to cost more than the healthy one.
Samsung NX10 made official -- APS-C sensor and AMOLED screen crammed into hybrid DSLR body
Samsung has just announced its NX10 "hybrid DSLR," which aims to give you all the uncompromising image quality of a full digital SLR within a somewhat more pocketable body. A 14.6 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor is a good start on that road, while "fast and decisive" contrast AF and a snazzy 3-inch AMOLED display keep the momentum going. There's 720p H.264-encoded video recording as well, but naturally you do have to make some tradeoffs for the reduced size. The mirror box is gone -- leaving you with only an electronic viewfinder -- and the brand new NX lens mounting system means you'll have to purchase your favorite lenses all over again. We'll wait and see whether the NX10 shows any appreciable advantages (such as price!) over the slightly smaller Micro Four Thirds shooters out there, but with a spring 2010 release date and a CES appearance on the cards, that wait shouldn't be too long. Go past the break for the full PR and spec sheet. Update: DPReview has an in-depth breakdown and a hands-on preview of the new shooter with a few sample shots posted from a pre-production unit. %Gallery-81296%
HTC Bravo pictured more lucidly (Update: coming to US in January as HTC Passion)
We realize we might have overfed you a little with that plentiful leak of HTC's 2010 plans, so here's a chance to better ogle and digest HTC's "Performance" flagship to be: the Bravo. Pairing Android with Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon and presenting a 3.7-inch AMOLED facade, this certainly ticks the headline boxes, and the addition of a five megapixel AF cam capable of 720p video capture gives it an extra sheen of 2010 newness. The picture above is accompanied by less solid info indicating a 1,400mAh battery, which will be joined by the mandatory WiFi, Bluetooth and MicroUSB connectivity, plus MicroSD expansion, FM radio tuner, digital compass, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Then again, the source is the same bunch of heroes responsible for our extra early -- and accurate -- info on the HD2, so those specs may be considered pretty reliable. Oh, if you're wondering about the touchscreen, it's capacitive, like it should be. Update: If you were wondering about the difference between the Bravo and the recently leaked Passion, there is none other than the branding apparently. We're also hearing that the above handset will be available in the US in January, a cool three months ahead of the expected European release.
HP lets iPAQ Glisten out of the box
The AT&T-bound iPAQ Glisten from HP has been unboxed for our viewing pleasure, video of which can be found immediately after the break. If you're not in such a hurry though, you'll want to know it's an AMOLED-fronted, Qualcomm-powered (533MHz) WinMo 6.5 device, which brings the BlackBerry form factor sans the RIM user experience, but plus a touchscreen. Another thing to note is that AT&T's online store will be the only place to get it, at the already announced $179.99 after rebates on a two-year deal. The video does a good job of comparing HP's return to the mobile space with a pair of similar devices, and we're left with the impression that it's a pretty chunky machine, but as usual we recommend seeing it for yourself -- and you already know where to find it.
HP's Obsidian becomes iPAQ Glisten, officially comes to AT&T
Wow, talk about digging deep in the memory bank. The same phone that we spotted way back in July (known then as the iPAQ K3 Obsidian) has finally emerged in official fashion on AT&T. Dubbed the iPAQ Glisten, this all-business smartphone boasts a vanilla coat of Windows Mobile 6.5, a 2.5-inch AMOLED display, 3.1 megapixel camera, 256MB of SDRAM, a microSD expansion slot, A-GPS, 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, a QWERTY keyboard, 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. 'Course, you'll still be dealing with a resistive screen and a dated OS, but if you're turned on in some weird way, it'll be "available in the coming weeks" for $179.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and 2-year agreement.
LG's 15-inch OLED TV now blowing minds in South Korea
Call Daegu home? Just over in South Korea to visit and / or infiltrate the DMZ? Regardless of why you're there, you're probably interested in picking up LG's latest, which has been tempting our retinas since IFA. Just as we'd heard back in late August, the aforesaid firm's 15-inch OLED TV is reportedly now on sale in South Korea, and it's packing a price tag of around ₩3 million ($2,598). By our count, this is just the second major, mass-produced OLED TV to hit store shelves anywhere in the world, but we're hoping to see a lot more action in this space come CES. You TV makers are listening to our requests demands, right?
Sprint launches Samsung Moment, Android empire expands by one
And here comes more trouble for your wallet. Mixing up that unholy trifecta of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, AMOLED screen and Android inside, Samsung's Moment -- in spite of its quirks and niggles -- is likely to lighten the load for quite a few Sprint customers today. Pricing is as expected, with a $279.99 initial outlay that gets reduced to $179.99 after rebates, but you'll also have to agree to a two-year contractual commitment. Unless you're locked in to Sprint for whatever reason, we might advise holding out for a couple of days and seeing if the DROID takes your fancy, but don't take our word for it -- check out what your fellow readers think right here. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
LG's transparent 15-inch AMOLED display is amazing, possibly useless
Look at that, just look at it will you. It's another in a latest trend that's bringing transparent displays to consumer electronics. However, this pup is in color and livin' large at 15-inches unlike those tiny transparent displays we've seen in handsets. Unfortunately, all we can do is look for the moment because the concept on show at FPD 2009 in Japan is accompanied by very little in the way of detail.
Samsung's 30-inch 3D AMOLED TV won't make you dizzy, will leave you poor and silly
Feeling that 3D craze yet? No? Well what if we told you that Samsung was bringing stereoscopic 3D to its magnificent AMOLED panels touting a million-to-1 contrast? Today in Japan it's showing off its 30-inch AMOLED 3D television with Full HD panel measuring just 2.5-mm thick. Although much is lost in the Korean language press release, Sammy is claiming that itd panel plus shutter-glasses technology helps to reduce the dizziness felt by some 3D viewers. The set's just a prototype at the moment but its price will certainly invoke financial vertigo whenever it might hit the manufacturing lines. One more very serious picture after the break.
Samsung i5700 Galaxy Lite renamed Spica, spied and specced in Italy
At long last, some apparently definitive details on Samsung's i5700, the handset formerly known as Galaxy Lite and now reportedly called the Spica. Italian site Cellularmania has a pretty exhaustive hands-on gallery and a much-coveted list of specs for the lime green HSDPA Android vessel. We're looking at a 3-inch AMOLED screen with 384 x 240 resolution, a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, 1500 mAh battery, accelerometer, GPS, FM radio... and yes, sad but unsurprising, it's soft-rocking a 528MHz Qualcomm processor. Unlike our last glimpse, there now seems to be that requisite Android home bottom on the right side of the lower panel, but no such luck for any trackball. We're also lacking price or release date details for any region, but at least for US enthusiasts, we're pretty confident that you shouldn't get your hopes up, given how the i7500 has been relegated stateside. [Via Slashgear]
Samsung's 12 megapixel SCH-W880 made official
We might still have debates over whether the SCH-W880 represents a cameraphone or our newly minted category of phonecamera, but there's no doubt about this: the Samsung AMOLED 12M is now official and coming to (at least) Korea in October. The specs align closely to yesterday's info, with a 3x optical zoom, 720p video recording, dedicated camera controls, and a 800 x 480 3.3-inch AMOLED display grabbing the headlines. Touch AF makes use of the touchscreen to let you choose focus areas, while image stabilization and Smart Auto modes fill out the software side of the camera. That leaves us with scant little info on the actual phone, but you could probably fill those specs in yourself by now, right? [Via Samsung Hub] %Gallery-74206% Show full PR text The World's First 12-megapixel Camera Phone with an Optical Zoom Is Launched in Korea Following the launch of Pixon12, the first 12 megapixel camera phone in June, Samsung astonishes the world with the 12 megapixel camera phone featuring Optical Zoom. Seoul, Korea, September 29th, 2009 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today announced the launch of the 'Samsung AMOLED 12M' (Model Name: SCH-W880), the world's first 12-megapixel camera phone with an optical zoom up to 3 times. The phone is going to be sold in Korean market from early October. The 'Samsung AMOLED 12M' is incorporated with the latest camera technology and display technology – the world's first 12-megapixel camera with an optical zoom and the world's most advanced WVGA (800 x 480) AMOLED full touch screen. As a response to one of the most demanding mobile consumers in Korea, the 'Samsung AMOLED 12M' comes packed with a host of functions which enable consumers to easily capture, browse and share their images on the move – all on a brilliant full-touch 3.3-inch WVGA AMOLED screen. "Samsung has led the camera phone market introducing the very many first of its kind camera phone – the first 5-megapixel (SCH-V7800, June 2005), the first 7-megapixel with an optical zoom(SCH-V770, July 2005), the first 10-megapxel (SCH-B600, October 2006), and recently, the first 12-megapixel camera phone for global market(Samsung Pixon12, June 2009). The Samsung AMOLED 12M is a living proof of our continuous commitment to introduce the most up-to-date technology to enrich users' mobile experience." said Executive Vice President JK Shin, Head of Mobile Communication Division in Samsung Electronics. The Samsung AMOLED 12M enables users to take perfect pictures quickly and easily, thanks to the Dedicated Camera Power Key which also provides a real digital camera-alike look and grip feeling. Samsung AMOLED 12M features fast image saving for next shot, so users can move to next shot within around 2 seconds. The phone also provides high quality video recording (1280 x 720) which offers 30 frames per second. The phone provides the best photo quality by adopting innovative camera features. With Touch Auto-Focus (AF) tracking, users can simply select focus point with the touch of a finger, after which the AF function will automatically follow the object, keeping it in focus even as it moves across the screen. Moreover, Smart Auto feature allows users to capture the perfect images as the camera automatically changes the scene and mode based on its object, background and lighting. Images taken on the Samsung AMOLED 12M are worth showing off to friends and loved ones as they boast digital camera quality thanks to the phone camera's superb lens and Xenon flash.
Vodafone debuts 360 online platform, H1 and M1 LiMo-based handsets
This time last year, you might have thought that LiMo was waning in the shadow of Android's eminence, but we're witnessing the vanguard of a new resurgence in the form of the Vodafone 360 H1 and M1 handsets by Samsung. Being the first LiMo Release 2 devices, they'll come with a bagful of fancy 3D UI visualizations to splash atop 3.5- and 3.2-inch touchscreen displays, with the bigger H1 (pictured) getting the AMOLED treatment, WiFi, HSDPA and 16GB of internal memory, and the M1 receiving HSDPA and 1GB of expandable memory, but no WiFi. They are making their debut alongside Vodafone's new 360 online platform, which takes over from the former Live service. You can expect it to bring Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk integration, as well as an app store to compete with the other heavy hitters. The M1's three color options are pictured after the break. Read - Vodafone 360 press release Read - Vodafone 360 H1 product page Read - Vodafone 360 H1 hands-on Read - Vodafone 360 M1 product page %Gallery-73881%
DigitalCube shows off sexy iSTATION S3 PMP
We'll just go ahead and get the bad news out of the way: if you call yourself a North American, and you're not gutsy enough to find an importer, you'll probably never own the downright beautiful device shown above. Known as the iSTATION S3, DigitalCube's latest arrives with 8/16/32GB of storage, an HDMI output, a battery good for 20 hours of audio playback (or 8 hours of video), an expansive 3.5-inch AMOLED display, WVGA (800 x 480) resolution and support for a veritable smorgasbord of file formats. Sadly, we've no price or release date to share, but by all means, give that read link a tap if you're looking for more eye candy.[Via OLED-Info]
Samsung expecting OLED laptops in Q3 2010
It'd be about a year late according to an earlier roadmap, but Samsung at IFA this week proclaimed its intention to adopt OLED for its laptop lineup as soon as the screens are commercially available -- "probably sometime Q3 next year" said Kyu Uhm, head of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for the company's Computing Division. Unfortunately, the company was mum on any other details. We doubt it'll look much like its 2008 prototype, but we can dream, can't we? [Via OLED-Info]
