Samsung intros 'Always On' Indicator Display

July 8, 2005

Samsung Electronics will introduce a new "section display" for mobile phones this fall. This display is divided into an indicator window and a main window and the low-power consumption quality of the new technology corrects the existing imperfections of external phone screens for an elegant, "always on," indicator display that requires virtually no power.

Jin-Hyuk Yun, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Display Business Team, stated, “We expect the low power requirements and high image quality of our section display technology to elevate the elegance of mobile phone designs.” He added, “Samsung’s new section display technology addresses many of the prevailing weaknesses of external LCD technology.”

The new mobile display includes a 1.15-inch indicator window that operates on a mere 0.45 milliwatts, instead of the 3 milliwatts prevalent today. The ultra-low power consumption allows the indicator window to continuously display the time and date as well as various icons that show the status of the battery, antenna, waiting email and other functions, when the phone enters standby mode.

The indicator window is driven independently of the main window and employs specially designed thin-film-transistor pixels to enhance brightness. Moreover, a section polarizing plate enables the screen to be read easily, even when the backlight is off.

The section display technology covers the LCD screen with a reflective sheet that keeps on-screen images extremely clear in natural lighting, while enhancing the image quality.

The contrast ratio, typically at 200:1, was enhanced to 500:1 and picture resolution was improved to 96x160 pixels. In addition, the new display provides vertical and horizontal viewing angle of 160-degrees. Greatly increased color saturation enables the user to view elegant-looking still or motion pictures.

The improvements made to Samsung’s section display make it ideal for application as an external screen for clamshell phones or a main screen for certain bar-type and slide-up models. Mass production is scheduled to start in the third quarter of this year.