They’re thin, unusually attractive, and some are remarkably flexible. Yes, supermodels, but also Samsung Mobile Display’s next-generation video screens, debuting next week at the Consumer Electronics Show.
While they won’t be available on smartphones or HDTVs yet, Samsung’s two prototypes will be flaunting some impressive tech, according to GizMag. The smaller of the two is a 4.5-inch flexible display that’s just 2mm thick, and it can be curled up like a Fruit Roll-Up, winding up into the diameter of a McDonald’s drinking straw.
The larger of the two displays won’t be flexible, but the 19-inch prototype rocks a mind-boggling resolution that’s four times higher than your garden-variety HDTV. What would you do with this transparent video screen that still lets light shine through even when it’s turned off?
These two screens are the first examples of the next generation of Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) technology. The displays have a super-thin organic layer of luminescent material that uses less energy and delivers higher contrast and better color than conventional LCD displays. Non-transparent versions are commonly used now in mobile devices, and big-screen varieties are on their way to a home theater near you.
Sony’s offered a display with an earlier generation of the technology for the past three years, but the steep $2,500 retail price (you can get it for $1800) for the Sony XEL-1’s 11-inch screen is a tough sell. Even though it’s not cheap, I can tell you from firsthand experience that its little screen has unmatched color saturation, contrast and sharpness. Sony’s good at this technology, showing the most impressive 3D screen I saw at last year’s CES, a super-sharp and bright 24.5-inch prototype.
Didn’t we see something like this in science fiction movies? It won’t be a fantasy for long — as soon as display companies perfect their manufacturing techniques, economies of scale will take over, bringing prices for these fantastic displays down to a reasonable level. When will these screens become ubiquitous? My guess: Give them three years, and huge, ultra-flat and maybe even transparent screens like this will be commonplace.
Check out the enlarged teaser pic below:
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