au Optronics
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AU Optronics pledges $9.3 billion to build two LCD factories
Call us crazy, but we're sensing a trend here. Just months after Samsung announced its intentions to expand an 8G LCD plant and merely hours after Matsushita trumpeted plans to spend $2.8 billion on constructing a new LCD factory of its own in Japan, along comes word that AU Optronics is following suit. This firm, however, is busting out a whopping $9.3 billion in order to erect two facilities "to meet demand for large-sized LCD TVs." Reportedly, one of the buildings will be situated in Taichung, Taiwan, and while it has yet to decide whether it will build 8.5G factories or ones that are even more advanced, we've got all ideas it will have orders lined up from day one, regardless.[Via Widescreen Review, image courtesy of FTIS]
Hey Asus, where's the $199 Eee PC?
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
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
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
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]
Honeywell sues myriad of LCD TV makers for anti-flicker technology
If you think LG has a mess on its hands, it's suddenly not alone, as six other manufacturers touching one point or another in the LCD TV supply chain are now facing a patent lawsuit from Honeywell. In what smells awfully like another patent instance of patent trolling, Honeywell is suing Acer, AU Optronics, BenQ, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Renesas Technology, and Denmos Technology as it claims that a patented "method of stopping liquid-crystal displays from flickering" has been unrightfully used. The firm has reportedly "sustained damages and will continue to sustain damages in the future," which they feel should translate into receiving incredible amounts of cash in order to resolve the situation. Reportedly, five of the six outfits under the lawsuit said that they "had not been informed" about the issue just yet, but we doubt it'll be too much longer before it floats to their respective legal departments.[Via Inquirer]
Apple and HP readying LED-backlit laptops?
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]
