I have finally made the move to host DisplayBlog. Please update your RSS feeds and hop on over to www.displayblog.com.

I was just over at Gizmodo browsing through interesting posts and came up to this video. Lenovo has done a very good job of showing a couple of limitations on the MacBook Air and then making sure that viewers see clearly how the X300 is just as thin but superior in some ways. There is one very important feature of the X300 that needs to be mentioned: the pixel format on the 13.3″ LED backlit LCD is 1440 x 900, which is quite a bit more than the MacBook Air’s 1280 x 800.

For those who purchase LCD panels, this set of information might be interesting. I took publicly available pricing information for LCD panels from Witsview and DisplaySearch, took the average, and then did some analysis on maximum value.

For the purpose of this blog post, maximum value is defined as dollar per megapixel ($/MP, lower is better). What this value shows is how many pixels you are getting for each dollar. Many might say that overall diagonal size is a much more important indicator and that might be true. But given the same size, I prefer a higher resolution LCD leading me to conclude that I value the number of pixels.

The value of pixels can be seen clearly in the trend toward 1080p in LCD TVs. Given the same size, say 42″, most consumers will desire a 1080p model compared to a 720p. The recent trend toward 1080p 32″ LCD TVs is another case in point.

Continue reading…

On April 29, 2008, Corning (GLW) announced Q1′08 results. Overall sales were up 24% Y/Y to US$1.62 billion. What I’m interested in is the Display Technologies division: Glass volume increased 2% Q/Q and 50% Y/Y. Part of the Display Technologies division is Samsung Corning Precision Glass (SCP) where volume was flat Q/Q but up 46% Y/Y.

Q1′08 Results
• Glass volume (all): Up 2% Q/Q and 50% Y/Y
• Glass volume (SCP): Flat Q/Q and 46% Y/Y
• Glass sales (all): Up 7% Q/Q and 58% Y/Y to US$829 million

As I understand it, Corning’s glass sales are in Japanese Yen. With the weakening US dollar, Corning’s sales and earnings benefited.

The company has a rosy Q2′08…

Continue reading…

Samsung and Sony announced on April 25, 2008 that they will establish a second G8 TFT LCD manufacturing line, 8-2, for its S-LCD joint venture.

• Startup Date, Glass Input Capacity, Motherglass Dimension
• G7 Line: April 2005, 100K/mo, 1870 x 2200mm
• 8-1: August 2007, 50K/mo, 2200 x 2500mm
• 8-2: Q2′09, 60K/mo, 2200 x 2500mm

Total investment for 8-2 will be around KRW1.8 trillion (about US$1.9 billion) and will be located in the Tangjeong Complex. Initial glass substrate input capacity will be at 60K/mo. Both G8 fabs will most likely increase to 90K/mo or more in the future to meet growing demand for large LCD TVs.

Continue reading…