Hey guys,
I'm glade to hear some of you got iPhones that you are happy with. I do have to say I am surprised to hear you got back a 5755136 LCD from applecare. My guess is that they just looked too find one without dots and just sent it along. A friend of mine has a 5755136 and i had the opportunity to inspect them side by side. Sorry i have no photos. I didn't feel that they would add anything to the discussion at this point. Nor would it have been convenient for me to setup my camera gear, standing in a dark parking lot.
The following is my final opinion on the topic of dots on the iPhone LCD. I've come to this conclusion through careful side be side inspection of both versions of iPhone LCD.
What are the dots? Is it the touch screen?
I strongly believe them to be pixels, slightly lighter then the other pixels displaying black. They are in the same position as pixels, that is, they don't fall between pixels, but instead take the place of the pixel being covered.
The dots also react to the pixels on the screen.
When the screen is displaying black you see this pattern in fig. a:
The dots become more filled in when there is a graphic on the screen. Everything down and at a 45deg angle to the right of any displayed pixel on the screen. so if there is a active pixel (that is a pixel that is not black) in the middle (fig, b) the pattern below, and to it's lower right become more dense. If a active pixel is at the top right... the hole screen is filled with the tighter pattern of dots (fig. c). This is why the pattern changes at the top of the home screen (fig. d).
Lastly the dots are not only invisible, but simply not there when the pixel is displaying anything other then black.
It is for those reason i believe them to be pixels, and not a layer of the touch screen.
If it's not the touch screen why do they disappear at a top, or right angle
If you own an iPhone or any lcd you will notice that the screen contrast and brightness changes when you look from an angle. Look at an image on the iPhone screen that has darker pixels in it. Now tilt your screen down, or to the left, so that your looking at it from the top or from the right side. Notice how the darker pixels become harder to see or disappear. now Tilter it up or right, so that your looking at it from the left side or bottom. The color become washed out. and the darker pixels become easier to see. Thats why you see the dots from this angle more easily.
Why don't you see them on some iPhones and not others?
This was the part i couldn't figure. Till i saw other phones that supposedly do not have the dots. Prevues discovery by other members of this forum and some poll like research. We seem to have found that there are two versions of LCD. A 5755136 and a 7455232. The 5755136 was found generally not to have dots, wile the 7455232 generally does. I say generally because some people have reported not to have, or to have dots on the opposite screens. This i can't really explain explain to say that there seems to be some confession as to what the dots look like. Some people mey be seeing the crossing lines of the touch layer and thinking they are what we describe as dots. All i can say is that all 7455232 that i have looked at had them clearly visible, and all 5755136 i have looked at did not.
So if there pixels why are they not on all screens? Well, they are. There just really hard to see. In-fact i really couldn't see them on the 5755136 LCD's. What i did see was the change in texture when moving graphics around. As described earlier, the pattern changes.
So, why can you see them on 7455232's? well, if you look at them side by side the 7455232 had higher contrast and blacker black. As a result the pixels stand out more. The 5755136 has less contrast and so you don't see them, they blend in more. I Don't know for sure if this means the 7455232 is a superior LCD, but blacker black is usually a good thing. (see fig. e)
Why are the dots there and what do they do?
I have no idea. But they are pre LCD, maybe software, maybe a video processor thing. I don't really know enough about this stuff to say.
I can see the dots because my 7455232 is so sharp and clear. And i feel that apple may be able to fix this with an update. If/when they do i'll be glade to have the 7455232 since i think it's a better looking screen (slightly). If apple doesn't fix the dots, i might try to exchange it down the road. But i'll give it a few months probably, maybe they will work out some of the other kinks by that time too.
Anyway, i think i've spent enough time on this topic. I'm gonna leave this in apples hands now. I still would like to know why the pixels are there?
In-spite of this dot thing, the iPhone is still an amazing device. Some of my favorite people are flawed too, but i don't hold it agents them. Luckily software can heal most wounds and apple defiantly knows software.
I wish you all luck with you iPhones.
Hope i explained my theories well enough, it's been fun.