To put Casio's achievement into perspective, those 7-inch PMPs and UMPCs generally equipped with 800 x 480 LCDs are now kicking the dirt in embarrassment at being outdone by the pixel density of Casio's new 2-inch display. Using a proprietary Hyper Amorphous Silicon TFT (HAST) LCD, Casio achieves a 960 x 540 pixel resolution resulting in 546 pixels per inch supporting 16.8 million colors -- hoozah! Although not announced, we'll undoubtedly see these in future NTT DoCoMo superphones just as soon as these displays hit mass production.

[Via Akihabara News]

While we wait, and wait... and wait for manufactures to perfect long-lasting fuel cells, Apple and others are pursuing at least one other approach: solar augmentation. In a patent application titled "Solar cells on portable devices" attributed to a number of Apple employees, Apple reveals possible plans to integrate solar cells into portable devices such as iPods and MacBooks. The application says, "Solar cells are typically stacked with other layers made of transparent or semi-transparent materials... Some of these layers may be used for display or input purposes, and some layers may be coated with various materials or they may be etched with product logos or other patterns." In other words, Apple is looking to cover the entire device, including the transparent display, with a layer of solar cells -- the latter approach already patented by Motorola. While the efficiency of solar cells and existing manufacturing techniques call into question the immediate viability of such an approach, it's intriguing nonetheless as a means to offset any lost battery life on the move to say, 3G.

[Via MacRumors]

Considering the hordes of utterly unsightly timepieces that find their way into our browsers, we've got to hand it to Sony Ericsson -- it's done a pretty fine job at keeping its name attached to watches that are, you know, wearable. That being said, we're not surprised to see such an intriguing patent app surface from the aforementioned firm, and honestly, we'd be even less shocked if this thing eventually went beyond the drawing board. As the picture above partially demonstrates, SE has envisioned a watch with LCD hands along with an LCD display resting behind 'em, theoretically enabling the hands to "vanish" while users peek a quick video or read a text message on the screen beneath. Call us crazy, but we're pretty sure even the likes of Bond and Tracy would approve of this.

[Via Cellpassion]

We've already seen Hitachi launch the "world's slimmest" LCD TV today, so it's rather fitting that Sharp comes through and delivers what it calls the "industry's thinnest" mobile display. Granted, we've known this ultrathin 2.2-inch wonder was coming since April, but it's always reassuring to see plans actually emerge from the drawing board. Nevertheless, this wee unit measures in just 0.01-millimeters thinner than a 1.9-inch version that AU Optronics was touting earlier this week (that's 0.68-millimeters for those keeping score), and it features a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, 320 x 240 (QVGA) resolution, 176-degree viewing angle and an eight-millisecond response time that should be suitable for mobile TV viewing. Regrettably, there's no sign of an actual release date, but those browsing the aisles at FPD International 2007 can reportedly catch it up close and in person.

[Via Akihabara News]

LG.Philips is far from being a newcomer to the cellphone display realm, and while it claimed to have cranked out the "world's slimmest" LCD for mobiles around this time last year, it's now boasting about one with an uber-thin bezel. Reportedly, the outfit has conjured up a 2.4-inch a-Si TFT-LCD, which touts a 320 x 240 resolution and possesses borders of just one-millimeter. The display is based on its Narrow Bezel Technology, and it should start mass production of the panels sometime next year. Notably, no price was mentioned, but the firm did state that it planned on applying the same technology to "other models to expand its lineup of slim border products."

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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]

Check the pic, is that cool or what? Actually, we're not very sure exactly what Moto is showing us with this picture, perhaps the recently approved patent application for the solar panel fitted LCD is sponsored by the letter "E"? The idea in concept is straightforward enough: your mobile's display could be designed such that it would have a solar cell built right in, so leaving your cell open (or maybe even while on a call, see below) would allow it to slowly recharge. The patent does reveal another interesting bit of info that reads "...at least some of the light passing from the front side and through the backside of the reflective liquid crystal display will illuminate," so we think this may well hint at a two-sided screen. We hope to see something from Motorola with this in it soon, and failing that, from whoever buys the idea.

[Thanks, Tom]

As our mobile devices skew from email, voice, and web surfin' to include more multimedia -- think live television and video on demand -- nobody (big emphasis on "nobody") is going to get into live TV on fuzzy, blurry, low res screens. To save us from future misery, Sharp has announced a QVGA 2.2 inch LCD with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, a 176 degree viewing angle, and an 8ms response time. The company expects to ship samples for One-Seg mobile phones (portable Aquos?) this fall, followed by a rollout into its other mobile handsets and cameras shortly thereafter. Japanese shipments of One-Seg compatible devices is expected to reach 10 million this year alone, so this could become a seriously hot item -- though, as usual, don't get your hopes up that this will be hittin' our shores anytime soon.

[Via Mobiledia]

We all love those 2 inch QVGA screens in those newer wireless handsets -- sending text messages, navigating menus and browsing the wireless web was never so good before all these nice color, high-rez screens became commonplace. Just don't go out in the sun and try to use your phone though, as many nicer color screens become virtually unusable in direct sunlight. Enter Samsung, which has announced a 2.1 inch QVGA color screen that features intelligent automatic brightness adjustment technology (try saying that 10 times fast). The new screen from Samsung will find its way into higher-end handsets and PDAs and features a temperature compensation sensor along with ambient lighting sensors embedded in its LCD driver IC. Samsung is also claiming that this new LCD consumes 20-30% less electric power than current QVGA displays. Take that, sunlight.

It's just a few short months since Samsung last claimed the title of world's thinnest LCD, but the company now seems to be facing a challenge from within, with subsidiary Samsung SDI announcing its bested its parent company's shortly-held record by a few millimeters. For those keeping score, Samsung SDI's LCD comes in at a mere 0.74 millimeters thick, which is more than enough to push Samsung Electronics' 0.82 mm thick LCD down to second place. Of course, the new record holder's still in prototype form, meaning it's still a ways off from actually finding its way into a cellphone, with the company only going so far as to say that it'll make an appearance in its "next-generation phones." Closer to reality, however, is Samsung's comparatively thicker 1.9 mm LCD, which the company says will soon be going into mass production before winding its way into its Ultra Edition II handsets this spring.

[Via Mobile Whack]

It looks like i-mate isn't only expanding its ODM horizons with digital photo frames -- last week at 3GSM they were also slyly showing off their freshly rebadged X-Stream Digital Media Hub HDTV and X-Stream Dock. The unpriced LCD HDTV has an embedded wireless router and, of course, Vista Ultimate PC with 720p and 1080i output; the Dock wirelessly streams media from your i-mate Ultimate device (presumably to the TV), apparently, for about $200. Neither have release dates, but we're always wary when it comes to embedded-PC TVs anyway, so we're not gonna sweat this one.

[Via MCPW]

Another day, another donut Bluetooth headset announcement. The BlueAnt Wireless V12 LCD Bluetooth headset, brings little new to a marketplace positively brimming with like devices. If there is one thing we know, it's the age-old trick to help a product stand out: simply place several cool backlit ants on it -- but sadly, that wasn't in the cards this lap 'round the track. What BlueAnt Wireless did get right, however, is to pack a barge-load of features into this 16 gram, 2.3 inch long set. Featuring call display with 10 number redial, vibrating alert, 12 hour talk time, and 300 hour standby (the site labels this as 15 days – apparently the days are shorter in Australia). Throw in ambient noise reduction, and the stylin' brushed aluminum finish rounds out what we would expect to see at the $99.00 price point. Best feature? The magic words 'V12' are on the headset, baby! Anything with V12 in it, or on it, is fine by us.

[Via PHONE Magazine]

Heck, plain ol' QVGA displays on phones are still a fairly scarce commodity in some parts of the world, but Hitachi knows you want... nay, need more. VGA, perhaps? Nope, keep going; think wider. Hitachi has officially started pumping out copies of its 2.9-inch, 800 x 480 cellphone display, promising web browsing experiences that could finally catch up with the 3G data speeds modern handsets are offering. The company points out that such crazy-fresh resolution typically leads to crazy-fresh battery drainage thanks to increased backlight brightness requirements, but engineers have apparently put in some late nights miniaturizing the circuitry and designing a new pixel structure to minimize power draw. Better yet, the panel promises a 170 degree viewing angle and a 400:1 contrast ratio. Only thing left, it seems, is for some scrappy manufacturer and/or carrier to step forward and announce a killer device wrapped around this sucker. Why do we get the strange feeling we should keep our eyes on NTT DoCoMo for that?

In September, LG.Philips announced their 1.3-mm LCD for cellphones, then Toshiba slimmed it down to 0.99-mm just a few weeks later. Now, just 2 months from where we began, Samsung has grabbed the title by unveiling this, their 0.82-mm slim TFT-LCD while making the whole thing more shock-resistant and easier to read outdoors in the process. The LCD screen is available in both 2.1 and 2.2-inch diagonal screen sizes and features a 240x320 (QVGA) resolution, 300nit brightness, and 500:1 contrast ratio. Best of all, according to Samsung this new, slimmer LCD module should allow manufacturers to shave 1.4 to 2.4-mm from future handset designs. So expect Sammy to rollout their world's slimmest, 4.5-mm (0.177-inches) cellphone sometime in the second half of 2007 when these panels are scheduled for release to manufacturers. Hell, with any luck, we'll get the chance to snap (literally) a prototype at January's CES.

[Via AVING]