LG Lowers OLED Target – Apparently
Sources in Asia have said that LG has reduced its OLED TV sales target. The company set a target of 5 million sets in June (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 25), but has apparently now dropped that to 800,000.
LG’s WOLED Pushes Yields Past 80%
In a meeting with CNet, LG’s global communication Director, Ken Hong, has said that OLED TV yields now exceed 80% – thanks to the WOLED technology it purchased from Kodak (Display Monitor Vol 16 No 47). Hong said, “I think lining up OLED crystals using RGB technology is just an impossibility to make money on. … Read more
Production Begins at LG’s Guangzhou Plant
Mass-production has begun at LG Display’s G8.5 line in Guangzhou, China. The Beijing News says that the fab is manufacturing medium- and large-sized (mainly 42″, 49″ and 55″) UltraHD LCD TV panels.
Chinese Vendors Drive White-Box Growth
Gartner predicts that white-box mobile devices will grow strongly this year: smartphones rising 50% YoY and tablets 15.6%. White-box products are typically aimed at the lower-end of the market, and Gartner expects both established and emerging Chinese vendors to lead growth. China is one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets in the world, and vendors can … Read more
Dell Goes OLED on World’s Thinnest Tablet
The ‘world’s thinnest tablet’, the Dell Venue 8 7000, has been announced at the Intel Developer Forum- using an OLED display. The 6mm-thick product has an 8.4″ OLED screen, with 2560 x 1600 resolution (the same as the Galaxy Tab S (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 25)). It will also use Intel’s Realsense depth-sensing technology … Read more
Google Takes Aim at Emergings With Android One
As expected, Google has launched its first Android One smartphones in India. The initiative is a reference platform where OEMs are offered sub-$100 reference designs, for developing markets. The first three phones are the Spice Android One Dream UNO Mi-498; the Micromax Canvas A1; and the Karbonn Sparkle V. Because Android One enforces a minimum … Read more
Hannspree Prepares for Smartphone Market Entry
Hannspree will expand its mobile product portfolio in Q4, adding large-screen smartphones to its line-up, as well as new tablet PCs. The products will be marketed at ‘affordable…entry-level price points’. The first smartphone, the SN50MC1, will have a 5″ screen (1280 x 720), IPS panel, dual-SIM capability and 1.7GHz octa-core CPU running Android 4.4. The … Read more
HTC’s Desire 820 is Future-Proofed
HTC is seeking to challenge rivals’ large-screen phones with its own middle-of-the-road offering. The Desire 820 features a 5.5″ display and 1280 x 720 resolution, as well as 4G connectivity. The 64-bit octa-core processor (unexpected on a mid-range device) is a Snapdragon 615, from Qualcomm, running Android 4.4. However, the 64-bit support means that it … Read more
Huawei Rises to Phablet Space
We missed Huawei at IFA, but the company announced two new smartphones called the Ascend Mate 7 and Ascend G7. The former features a 6″ display (1920 x 1080), aluminium chassis and octa-core processor (four Cortex A15 1.8GHz cores and four Cortex A7 1.3GHz cores). Fingerprint authentication is also built in. The Mate 7 will … Read more
Intel Highlights Android Reference and Core-M Hybrids
At its recent Developer Forum, Intel showed off an Android reference design programme, intended to simplify the development of Intel-based Android tablets. OEMs will be able to choose from a set of components or a complete bill of materials specification before building a system. New convertible products were also on display, using the Core-M chip … Read more
Low-Cost Vendors to Challenge Tier Ones
Juniper Research has said that smartphone shipments will reach 1.2 billion this year: a 19% YoY rise from 2013’s 985 million. Emerging markets, with high uptake of low-cost models, will drive growth. Products from China’s Xiaomi and those launched under Google’s Android One initiative are likely to challenge major vendors like Apple and Samsung in … Read more
Microsoft Makes Wireless Charging ‘Affordable’
Microsoft’s newest Nokia smartphones, running Windows Phone 8.1, are the Lumia 830, Lumia 735 and Lumia 730 Dual SIM, all of which are described as affordable. The flagship Lumia 830 features wireless charging and ‘the thinnest optical image stabilization system to date on a Lumia’. It will be launched worldwide this month for
