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NEC brings us the heart-shaped LCD panel, for better or worse
Admit it: you love digital photo frames. You love them so much, in fact, that you would be thrilled if NEC were to come up a heart-shaped LCD panel so you could get something like the prototype pictured here. Well, that's exactly what it did with its new "complex, non-rectangular TFT LCD modules." This isn't the first non-rectangular display we've seen, but it's definitely one of the most versatile in terms of the shapes it allows. The new development is based on a more flexible TFT display that puts the display's driver circuits along the perimeter of the LCD glass, allowing for more creative data and gate arrangements. In short, this all results in the monstrosity / ball-of-cuteness -- your choice -- you see above.
Putting the War back in World of Warcraft
Lagerosi asked on the general forums if The Frozen Throne was in fact the end of the war between the Alliance and the Horde. Jheric clarified our current faction status well: What exists now is essentially a cold war, with the two factions fighting in proxy areas such as Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin, much like the way the U.S. and U.S.S.R. would send weapons and 'advisers' to small countries in Africa and Asia. With the transition from active warfare has come shifting allegiances, such as the Blood Elves joining the Horde after falling out with the Alliance (pretty much all the fault of one Alliance general), and Dalaran electing for neutrality.
Toshiba demos OCB LCD technology, but doesn't deliver
Now that SED technology is on the verge of kicking the vapor filled bucket, how about another advanced display technology to tie your insanely high hopes to? Optically compensated bend -- oh wait, this isn't new -- technology is supposed to provide clear viewing in sunlight, "wide viewing angles, and high speed response" (and that's a quote from a post exactly a year old). Toshiba has developed and shown off a new OCB LCD, which at only 4.3-inches diagonal is actually half the size of the prototype they were talking about in May '06. Frankly, we'll settle for a little less optimism in return for actually being able to see these improvements make their way into real products. Unfortunately, Toshiba seems to be content with continually teasing us: maybe they won't be so content when we all start playing Duke Nukem' Forever on holographic displays.[Via I4U News]
Sony's world's first 16.7 million color flexible OLED
Oh boy, another bendy display we won't likely see on the market any time soon. This time it's Sony's turn to tout with this, their 2.5-inch, 160 x 120 pixel OLED display on a flexible plastic film. Better yet, this organic TFT delivers a relatively stellar 16.7 million colors compared to the 262k and 16k colors Samsung and LG.Philips, respectively, were showing off last week. That's a world's first 24-bit color depth for these types of displays. Take that Samsung. The display also measures a mere 0.3-mm thin which easily bests the hapless Korean (and Dutch) giants. The only downside (if you call it that) is the display's "greater than" 1000:1 contrast ratio compared to Samsung's 10,000:1 rating. But by now you've learned to take contrast measurements with a grain of salt, right?[Via Impress]
Corega announces 22-inch CG-L22WDGW, WDGB widescreen monitors
Corega has announced two new Japan-only 1680 x 1050, 22-inch LCDs: the CG-L22WDGW and CG-L22WDGB. Both models feature glossy finishes, 1000:1 contrast ratios, 5ms response times, dual DVI-D, VGA, and Component inputs, plus 2 x 5 Watt speakers -- welcome to tinny city. The only difference between the two models and their very annoying 10 character designations is that one (WDGW) comes in a white, and the other in black (WDGB). For some reason you'll have to wait until April to pick up the White variant, with the Black model available on March 22: although you'll have to travel to Japan and plunk down ¥57,800 ($490) in order to get either.[Via PC Watch]
Klegg 42, 50, 55, and 63-inch plasma HDTVs
Ok, we have heard of the Klegg Mini MP3 player - "world's smallest MP3" that really isn't - but we didn't know the company made other electronics. Whoever they are, we are curious to see their new plasma line. The aluminum framed 42, 50, 55 and 63-inch sets sound kind of nice. Somehow Klegg has developed a TFT panel overlay of liquid crystal to "enhance transparency, contrast and picture definition." We really don't understand why, or how, a TFT panel ended up in their plasmas but we aren't totally knocking it till we see it - remember this is the same company that has made the "world's smallest" MP3 player. These sets are only available from an authorized dealer and are available now.
Samsung's single-chip 7-inch LCD
Samsung recently announced the industries first, single-chip, 7-inch a-Si TFT-LCD. The new design which brings a 400:1 contrast ratio and 854 x 480 pixel resolution is destined to replace displays in mobile products like, oh say the 7-incher in Sammy's Q1 and the rest of the UMPC lot, allowing said devices to be thinner while reducing their overall complexity. And yeah, that display she's offering-up is 'Shopped so don't get your knickers in a twist over it.
Garmin's BMW Motorrad III Navigator motorcycle GPS receiver
European bikers will soon be tearing up the continent with a little more direction thanks to Garmin's upcoming BMW Motorrad III Navigator GPS receiver designed specifically for the helmets and leather crowd. Probably also functional on non-BMW motorcycles, the Motorrad III features a 454 x 240 TFT display, birds-eye view mapping, and 500MB of free storage after MapSource City Navigator Europe NT Version 8 is installed. Also on board is a Bluetooth radio, although the poor translation of French site Mobinaute that our intern managed to patch together doesn't make its functionality exactly clear -- we think you can pair it with a Bluetooth headset for hearing the spoken guidance cues inside your helmet, and perhaps like some other Bluetooth-equipped units, it may be possible to have it dial points of interest on your phone as well. Sources indicate that this model should be available sometime this month, but pricing, as is often the case, remains shrouded in mystery.[Via ployer]
German researchers develop another transparent OLED technique
Looks like Fraunhofer's researchers aren't the only Germans able to get in on the transparent OLED thing. It appears some researchers at the Technical University of Braunschweig are claiming to have developed a technique for embedding OLED pixels on layers of transparent TFTs, creating see-through displays that could be manufactured cheaply with flexible plastics capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. Apparently the transparent displays, which were up to (and over) twice the brightness of today's displays, should be ready to rock in two years -- just in time for us to renovate the Department Of Precrime set we use act out Minority Report in during our lunch hour. Is it now?
