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Samsung asks for South Korean injunction against LG for allegedly stealing OLED tech
LG and Samsung have had to live with each other as cornerstones of the South Korean economy, but that uncomfortable balance might just have been knocked off-kilter through an escalating legal battle. Samsung has filed for an injunction against LG for supposedly coercing 11 Samsung researchers (already indicted in July) into leaking the secrets behind its OLED screens, including 18 pieces of technology and 21 related documents. The accuser wants 1 billion won (about $879,771) in compensation for every piece of technology that might have slipped out. Suffice it to say that LG isn't happy with being labeled as a thief -- it notes that LG screens use white OLEDs instead of Samsung's RGB technique, reducing its incentive to swipe anything Samsung makes. LG even contends that Samsung is just trying to hide its embarrassment at losing OLED TV demo units that were headed to IFA 2012. Without a clear resolution in sight, there's every indication the legal dispute could become very ugly.
LG Display starts volume production of in-cell touch screens, we have a hunch as to who wants them
Looks like we'll be finding in-cell touch displays in our devices sooner rather than later: LG Display has confirmed that it's been mass-producing the thinner LCDs since earlier in August. CEO Han Sang-beom also notes that manufacturing has been going as smooth as, well, glass. Despite the complexity of building touch input directly into a display, the company expects to keep the supply going "without any fail," according to the executive. As to who's making the orders? LG Display isn't naming its customers on the record, and production could be as much for its sister company's phones and tablets as anyone else's. It's hard not to pinpoint Apple as the 800-pound gorilla in the room, however. Apart from Apple representing one of LG Display's biggest existing customers, multiple rumors and component leaks point to an iPhone with an in-cell display being in the works. The timing raises a distinct possibility that we'll know more about the screen manufacturer's clients in less than a month.
AUO, LG, Toshiba pay $571 million to settle LCD price fixing lawsuit, broken record keeps skipping
The way LCD price fixing lawsuits keep popping up and settling in short order, you'd think they were going out of style. The latest motley group to face a reckoning includes AU Optronics, LG and Toshiba, the combination of which has agreed to pay a total of $571 million to eight separate American states to either avoid the legal wrath of a class action lawsuit or to pay an outstanding fine. Allegedly, the trio kept LCD prices artificially high between 1996 and 2006, hiking the prices of PCs and TVs in the process. There's a slight twist here: while keeping the display builders honest is the primary goal, the class action status will net some direct rewards for the public. Americans who claim to have been wronged in the scandal can get "at least" $25, which goes a lot further towards buying an LCD than it did six years ago.
LG Display's new five-inch 1080p smartphone display: it's real, and we've got video
We stopped by The Society for Information Display's (SID) 2012 convention in not-so-sunny Boston, Massachusetts to feast our eyes upon LG Display's latest creation: a five-inch display panel with Retina-smashing specs. We're talking about a screen that sports a 1920 x 1080 full HD (FHD) resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio and 440ppi density -- not to mention the Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) technology. The Life's Good arm states that the window, which has not yet been paired with a smartphone, will provide "Full HDTV quality" on a phone for the first time. Seeing is believing, though, so have a look at our gallery then saunter past the break to read what the company's VP of IT and Mobile Development had to say about the future of screens. %Gallery-157218%
LG Display debuts five-inch Retina Display killer with 1080p HD resolution and 440ppi pixel density
Smartphone displays are becoming larger in size, and along with that, we're seeing a nice trend that's bringing greater pixel density. While LG Display's newly-announced 1080p HD mobile display isn't the most pixel dense that we've seen -- a distinction that belongs to Toshiba -- the five-inch panel is more appropriate for consumer applications and boasts an impressive pixel density of 440ppi. Its 16:9 aspect ratio was designed with HD content in mind, and the LCD technology isn't anything to sneeze at, either: it's a variant of IPS known as Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS), which is said to boast wide viewing angles, fast response times and improved brightness efficiency. Best yet, it seems that consumers won't have long to wait before the panel works its way into consumer technology -- the five-inch HD display is set for availability during the second-half of this year. To learn more of the Retina Display-shattering deets, you'll find the full PR after the break. Update: Be sure to check out our eyes-on post.
WSJ: Apple testing 8-inch iPad
The invites haven't even been sent out and yet the frenzied speculation about what Tim Cook will whip out on stage at next month's purported announcement has begun. The Wall Street Journal believes Cupertino's planning to produce a smaller, 8-inch slate to partner its 9.7-inch flagship. Unnamed sources at the company's suppliers say it'll pack a screen with a resolution close to the 1024 x 768 display on the current model. This jibes with what we've heard about the iPad 3 toting a Retina Display -- unless the smaller unit is aimed at budget buyers. The report claims test panels are being produced by AU Optronics and LG Display and that this model might also run on LTE. It's probably fair to point out that Apple is famous for producing prototypes in a wide variety of sizes that will never see the light of day, so don't get your hopes up too soon.
LG Display cuts spending targets for 2012, amid sagging LCD demand
LG Display has decided to drastically cut its expenditure target for 2012, in yet another sign that the LCD market is going through some tough times. Today, the manufacturer announced that it will spend only three trillion won (about $2.8 billion) on its production facilities next year -- a 33 percent decrease from its previously revised budget and LG Display's lowest expenditure target since 2009. The company also said that it has no plans to build a new LCD plants in 2012, suggesting that it may already be facing excess panel supply. Analysts are predicting that demand will remain subdued throughout the end of 2011, though LG Display CFO James Jeong had previously said he expects things to pick up by the beginning of next year.
LG trots out ultraslim Nano Full LED TVs, polarized Cinema 3D sets
The never-ending battle between active and polarizing 3D alternatives still isn't anywhere near its impossible-to-determine finale, but it's pretty clear that LG's intent on supporting the latter. Those who aren't fazed by losing resolution so long as batteries aren't required in their 3D glasses should be elated to hear of the outfit's latest Cinema 3D sets, with the 32-inch 32LW5700, 42-inch 42LW5700 and 47-inch 47LW5700 pushing three-dee down to smaller scale displays. We've never been particularly fond of the 3D effect on bedroom-sized panels, but those looking for something a bit less gargantuan may beg to differ. The trio will support USB HDD recording, an integrated tuner, and of course, the inclusion of an IPS panel should make both 2D and 3D images alike look downright ravishing. Those fine to settle for the way we've always watched TV can opt for the 2D-only 47LZ9600 (47-inch) / 55LZ9600 (55-inch), both clocking in at 8.8mm thick and offering a native 1080p resolution, a built-in TV tuner and support for USB recording. The whole lot is expected to hit Japan later this month, with other dignified nations to surely follow suit shortly.
LG's new ultra-high resolution AH-IPS displays, simply stunning at any size
The Life's Good gang warned us with the written word about its super fantastic, ultra-high resolution Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) displays. Of course, written resolution claims merely provide verisimilitude; viewing is the only way to discern their veracity. We saw the screens, ranging from a petite 3.5 inches to a prodigious 84-inch panel, at SID 2011 and were impressed enough to begin scheming ways to get a wall of these for Engadget HQ. Unfortunately, we don't know how many dollars LG wants for its plethora of panels or when they'll go on sale, but you can bet we'll keep you posted. If our impressions and that mouthful of a moniker haven't sold you on the awesomeness of AH-IPS, then take a gander at the gallery and let the pixel-packed pics persuade you. %Gallery-123864%
LG Display's 4.3-inch bistable display concept eyes-on (video)
With all the giant screens throwing around flashy 3D graphics at SID, the smaller offerings like this LG 4.3-inch transparent bistable LCD display can be easy to overlook. Lucky for you, our hawk-eyes combined with a love for tiny gadgets landed us -- and our video camera -- right in front of this bantam wonder. Sure, bistable displays (which can retain an image when powered down) are nothing new, but this 4.3-incher was just too eye-catching to pass up -- even if it was just running a simple stick-man animation. We're not sure where LG's going with this little screen -- it is just a concept, after all -- but we can already hear advertisers and automotive designers licking their lips in anticipation. For more transparent display goodness, check out the video after the break. %Gallery-123863%
Samsung and LG to showcase high pixel density LCD panels for tablets at SID 2011
It's a well-known fact that LG's already dominated the pixel density race in the smartphone market thanks to the Retina Display inside the iPhone 4, but we've yet to see similar technologies making their way to larger devices. That could change very soon, however, with Samsung and LG both announcing larger high-density panels to be showcased at SID 2011 next week. From Samsung we'll be seeing its 10.1-inch 300ppi prototype LCD panel, which rakes up an astonishing resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 under the battery-friendly PenTile RGBW matrix (not to be confused with AMOLED and Super AMOLED's RGBG arrangement). What's more, Samsung also teases "commercial availability" for this technology later this year. Things are a bit vague with LG -- no specific resolutions are mentioned in the pre-show announcement, but we're told that the company will introduce "a full line-up" of "ultra-high resolution" Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) products, including 3.5-, 4.5-, 7-, 9.7, 55-, and 84-inch panels, with a "greater number of pixels than the PPI that can be recognized by the human eye at a typical distance" -- a proclamation typically reserved for the iPhone 4's 326ppi Retina Display. Of course, LG could be misleading here -- the 9.7-inch panel brought up in the press release could just be the exact same 1,024 x 768 IPS display on the iPad, but we'd be surprised if LG doesn't have a similarly-sized prototype to fire back at Samsung's 10.1-inch 300ppi panel. Well, keep an eye out for our SID 2011 coverage next week and we'll let you know what goodies we find.
iPad 2 light leakage due to faulty LG panels? (update)
We don't have official word from Apple on the subject, but we're hearing rumors that might explain why some iPad 2 backlights tend to bleed -- according to Digitimes' anonymous sources, LG Display was "forced to reduce its shipments in the first quarter due to light leakage problem for panels," and that Samsung took up the slack. That suggests that some of today's vaunted 9.7-inch IPS displays may be from LG's faulty batch and some may be slightly superior Samsung screens, but we don't really recommend you crack yours open on the basis of an uncorroborated rumor (or at all, really) to find out the truth of the matter. Update: An astute reader reminds us that while LG, Panasonic and Chimei make IPS screens, Samsung traditionally does not. Perhaps Samsung has managed to get its plane-line switching (PLS) displays into iPads instead, as was rumored last month, or perhaps this rumor is simply inaccurate, in whole or in part. [Thanks, trucker boy]
Quality issues with LG manufactured panels to blame for iPad 2 shortage
Quality control problems with LCD panels from LG Display may have contributed to the prolonged shortage of the iPad 2. According to the report from Digitimes, early batches of the 9.7-inch panels supplied by LG had a light leak issue that limited LG's ability to meet demand. As a result, LG only produced 3.2 million panels in the first quarter of 2011, a figure that trails the four million panels produced by Samsung. This report corroborates an earlier report from IHS iSuppli that blamed the iPad 2 shortage on an unknown manufacturing problem with LCDs. LG has reportedly fixed this light leakage problem and is back on track to ramp up production this spring. Chimei Innolux is also prepping to contribute to the supply of IPS panels for the iPad 2 starting in May. If both these manufacturers can boost production, then perhaps iPad 2 supply constraints can be eased in this current quarter.
Acer said to be using LG Shuriken display in upcoming laptop -- less bezel, less thickness, more awesome
The zany guys and gals at DigiTimes have a saucy new rumor to start our week off with a bang. A newfangled LG display, dubbed Shuriken, is apparently being recruited in Acer's fight against irrelevance. The Taiwanese company will reputedly use it in an upcoming 14.1-inch laptop, but here's the kicker: the physical size of the laptop will be no bigger than that of a 13.3-inch model. That's because the Shuriken's panel will require less bezel (8mm instead of 12mm) and less thickness, slimming itself down to just 4mm. LG already has the 12.5-inch Xnote P210, which would seem to be employing similar technology, so it's not a stretch to believe the company's war on bezels has stepped up to the 14-inch size class. Acer is expected to launch this new laptop as early as next month, though the cost of the Shuriken displays is cited as the reason they haven't been taken up more widely yet, meaning the price of the eventual product will be almost as intriguing as its looks.
LG shows off 47-inch transparent IPS LCD with multitouch and Full HD resolution (video)
Where Samsung leads, LG inevitably follows (and vice versa, of course). The Korean electronic arms race has now heated up by an extra few degrees with LG's demo of a crazy new 47-inch display that packs in everything a geek could want: IPS technology, 1080p resolution, multitouch, and some good old transparency... just because. This so-called Window Display is sadly intended for advertisers and other digital signage proprietors, meaning that even if it wasn't still at the concept stage, it likely wouldn't be populating living rooms anyway. Ah well, so long as LG makes sure John Anderton and the precrime unit get one, we'll be happy. Video for the rest of us after the break.
LG woos Sony while it battles with Samsung over which 3D is best
The fight between the active shutter glasses 3D technology favored by TV manufacturers like Samsung, Panasonic and Sony against the Film Pattern Retarder (FPR) passive glasses 3D technology being pushed by LG got uglier this week. The Wall Street Journal points out LG's print ads currently running in Korea (they could be running here already, but we'd have to read physical magazines or newspapers to know for sure) claim that unlike the competition, it will work even when viewers lay down on their sides, though the effect may be slightly weakened. Samsung responded by citing experts recommending keeping your head horizontal to watch 3D since the cameras used to film it are aligned horizontally, and an executive apparently called LG's engineers "stupid" at a press conference, although reports of a "yo mama so fat" diss could not be confirmed. Of course, since these are the world's two biggest TV manufacturers, they sell to end users and other manufacturers like Sony, which Reuters reports LG is waiting to hear from about using its technology in the future. Sony and Samsung are already tight when it comes to LCD manufacturing but it's obvious LG is looking for a few more friends to line up alongside Vizio, Toshiba and Philips (which just announced its latest displays using active and passive glasses.) But back to the end users for a moment, if anyone's going to buy any of these 3DTVs, it may be wise to start selling consumers on why the feature is worthwhile at all and pointing out the growing amount of content -- this week's Big East basketball tournament, Killzone 3, the NBA Finals or Blu-ray 3D releases like Tron: Legacy -- before folks decide just waiting for 4D would be the wisest choice.
Philips doubles up with both passive & active 3D TVs, new Blu-ray players in Europe
We got a peek at what the Philips/Funai combo has in store for North America during CES, but at today's Philips Pulse event in Barcelona it showed off even more of its 2011 plans. Most distinctively, while it's using FPR passive 3D glasses technology (calling it Easy 3D) in some of its new TVs just like LG & Vizio, it will break from those two by continuing to offer active shutter displays as well, branded 3D Max. If your main interest is one of those sweet 21:9 ultrawidescreen displays (pictured above) you can get it either way as a Gold or Platinum series product while the regular 16:9 sets are divided with the 7000 series featuring Easy 3D and 3D Max slotted for higher end 8000 and 9000 series products. All of the TVs mentioned here and higher end (7000, 5000 series) Blu-ray players include Smart TV features which means Net TV apps including catch-up TV where applicable, recording to USB, sharing from media from WiFi-connected devices and the ability to control the device with a Philips app on your iOS or Android phone. Check the press site for more details, model numbers and the like, but there's no word yet on pricing or availability.
iPad 2 display leaked? (updated)
Do you believe what you're seeing? 9to5Mac along with iFixYouri repair say they've got the new iPad 2 display. Better yet, they've got the purported part number: LP097X02-SLN1, compared to the original iPad's LP097X02-SLA3 display. It's said to be lighter and more than 1-mm thinner than the original while featuring a thinner bezel as well -- right, just as the rumors and our own sources have said. Such a display would also enable some tapering of the edges in line with those milled aluminum dummies we've seen. The big mystery is still the resolution. A 9to5Mac commenter claims to have deciphered the part number to reveal its LG Phillips 9.7-inch XGA 1024 x 768 H-IPS display origins (same resolution as the current iPad, if true). Unfortunately, we have no way to confirm this. One more pic of the part number details after the break.Update: 9to5Mac posted a few new details. First, it says that the new display is 10 grams lighter. Fine. It then adds cheekily, "Oh, if we told you that the dots on the display matched up with the current display, would you be upset?" Well, would you?
iriver teams with LG Display on Story HD e-reader, bumps resolution to 1024 x 768
What a difference a year makes, right? At CES 2010, we were staring at iriver's Story e-reader, wondering if the future would ever be the same. Today, we're doing something similar, albeit with way more pixel density. Sure to please our own, in-house Pixel Density Enthusiast Paul Miller, iriver has just let loose the world's highest resolution 6-inch e-reader. The Story HD -- which was designed in cooperation with LG Display -- still relies on e-paper, but it packs an XGA (1024 x 768) screen resolution. According to iriver, that represents a 63.8 percent pixel increase over the competition, offering increased legibility, faster response performance and finer fonts. You'll also find a Freescale processor, built-in WiFi and a content access portal that's being kept under wraps for now. It's also equipped with Easy Wi-Fi Network support, a battery good for up to three weeks of use and compatibility with DRM-laced ePUB and PDF files. If you're curious to know just how badly this thing will undercut those LCD-based alternatives, you'll have to wait; we're simply told that it'll be "competitively priced" and available for purchase in Q2 2011.
LG Display thinks it can fix 3DTV with passive glasses & FPR
So far 3DTV hasn't increased sales by as much as predicted, but LG Display thinks it can turn that around with three simple letters: FPR (branded Cinema 3D by its consumer arm earlier today.) Standing for Film Pattern Retarder, it places a thin film over the LCD (there's no plans for plasma products) that allows 3D viewing with cheap, passive polarized 3D glasses instead of expensive and heavier active shutter glasses. LG plans to stop manufacturing active shutter 3D displays soon. That will further open the door for FPR, due in April in the USA, to take over with a 4K2K display to arrive this year and plans for a OLED model in 2012. We took a tour through LG Display's house of active shutter horrors (as seen above, grammar aside) and sat in for the press conference, check the gallery for a few pictures plus more on what this means for 3D and a quick promotional video.
