OLED Displays in iPods?

[MacRumors]

ThinkSecret reports that according to their sources, Apple is considering Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technology and is planning on using it as early as next year in upcoming iPods -- with possible expansion into displays and laptops later on.

OLED technology has received a lot of attention this past year -- with many speculating their uses in future Apple hardware. This is the first evidence, however, that Apple may use this technology in the future.

[joed]

Very excited when I read that on Think Secret. Interesting rumor!

Hope it's true. Wonder if Apple's also been looking at the e-ink alternatives?

Bring it on I say


James.

[Wardofsky]

Organic LEDs?

That's an interesting thought, I think I'm more interested in that than their relationship to Apple.

[Billicus]

That sounds cool! I wonder whether that would increase the battery life of their iPods and laptop computers.

[cgc]

I think the most interesting part is that OLEDs are color.

[coumerelli]

I think that there's just too much going on for the 23rd for us to be worried about NEXT year. But, as far as dreaming goes, that would be sweet! I'd like to see a screen that looks something to the effect of the game boy stuff - you know, color and hi res (though I know it would be a battery drainer.

[stompy]

Originally posted by Wardofsky
Organic LEDs?

That's an interesting thought, I think I'm more interested in that than their relationship to Apple.

I believe Kodak uses their home grown OLED in some of their cameras. (Too lazy to look up which ones.)

[Mr. Anderson]

OLEDs will eventually replace LCDs - they're cheaper to make, better and use less power. Also, since they don't have a glass layer like LCDs, you can roll them up....

I think this a great move for Apple and it will allow them to have color screens on the iPod - which means that you might have more functionality on the iPod.

Imagine a 3" screen to view images and movies on?

D

[Mudbug]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Imagine a 3" screen to view images and movies on?

D

I already have the 3" screen to view images and movies on, on my camcorder. That doesn't mean I want to watch the stuff I recorded with the camcorder _on_ the camcorder...

<edit> realized I didn't stay on topic - This would be great news for the ipod, and even better news for laptops. battery life being extended on both products would be nothing but a good thing IMO. <end edit>

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by Mudbug
I already have the 3" screen to view images and movies on, on my camcorder. That doesn't mean I want to watch the stuff I recorded with the camcorder _on_ the camcorder...

<edit> realized I didn't stay on topic - This would be great news for the ipod, and even better news for laptops. battery life being extended on both products would be nothing but a good thing IMO. <end edit>

Ah, but those are your own movies

How many could you hold on an iPod?

And what if it had a video out? TV is just 640x480 res - 10 movies in your pocket?

D

[Laslo Panaflex]

I don't know if any of you guys have seen an OLED display in person, but I have and they are amazing. They compare niclely to HD IMHO. The colors and the contrast were awsome and I stood just about 180 degrees to the side and I could still see it. OLED is the future of small displays. I haven't seen or heard of a 23" cimema OLED display, so I don't know how good they would be in this environment. Having a OLED screen for an iPod would be a good move.

P.S. The size of the OLED screen I saw was about 6" diagonal, give or take. I don't remember the manufactuer's name (didn't see it anywhere on the product).

[Ja Di ksw]

This would be really amazing. I'm really looking forward to seeing what different companies (especially Apple) will do with more organic materials. This screen could save battery power on the iPod and laptops (if I'm reading it right). Anyone have any estimates on how much more time it would add to the battery of an iPod? To get slightly off topic, what I'm more interested in when it comes to this subject is the DNA processor. I've read a little here and there about it in different science magazines, though nothing within the past few months. THAT will be a sight to behold, your computer using A, T, G, C (U if they use RNA, as well). *shiver*

By the way, thanks for the OLED Tutorial link arn. Little things like that, along with the general demeanor of this site, are why its my favorite rumor site.

[altivec 2003]

...faster response time for video

...Hmmmm......

[Tim Flynn]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
OLEDs will eventually replace LCDs - they're cheaper to make, better and use less power. Also, since they don't have a glass layer like LCDs, you can roll them up....
D

They are not cheaper (yet). OLEDs use more power than LCD. OLEDs are transmissive, hence need power.
But .... the view is way more cool than a LCD.

[Mudbug]

Originally posted by Laslo Panaflex
I don't know if any of you guys have seen an OLED display in person, but I have and they are amazing. They compare niclely to HD IMHO. The colors and the contrast were awsome and I stood just about 180 degrees to the side and I could still see it. OLED is the future of small displays. I haven't seen or heard of a 23" cimema OLED display, so I don't know how good they would be in this environment. Having a OLED screen for an iPod would be a good move.

P.S. The size of the OLED screen I saw was about 6" diagonal, give or take. I don't remember the manufactuer's name (didn't see it anywhere on the product).

But what was the product you saw it on? That's a pretty big screen for a consumer product...

[dxp4acu]

My cell-phone has OLEDs. It is the first I think that does. It's a Motorola Timeport something or other. I still always get comments about how cool and bright they look- even after 2 years of owning the phone!!

They are pretty amazing.

[Black Badger]

Things are falling into place....

Apple will probably be the first manufacturer to sell large (>15") OLED displays.
Why? Apple currently use a company called Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) in Taiwan for their 20 inch display and I think the iMac displays, CMO have an joint venture company called IDTech in Japan who have this March shown a working 20" OLED prototype (see here). The other partner in IDTech is none other than IBM (see here), who are in with Apple, so this makes a nice triangle there where all parties are quite closely connected to each other.

This is all speculation but it does all fit quite nicely, so maybe this time next year not only will Mac users have a next generation machine, they might just have a next generation display to go with it

[altivec 2003]

Originally posted by dxp4acu
My cell-phone has OLEDs. It is the first I think that does. It's a Motorola Timeport something or other. I still always get comments about how cool and bright they look- even after 2 years of owning the phone!!

They are pretty amazing.

This is a little off topic but..... I don't have one, but i have heard that the back light on the gameboy advance was terrible. This might be a good substitute. If they really are that cheap, maybe i can finally afford an apple cinema displeay

[Kid Red]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
OLEDs will eventually replace LCDs - they're cheaper to make, better and use less power. Also, since they don't have a glass layer like LCDs, you can roll them up....

I think this a great move for Apple and it will allow them to have color screens on the iPod - which means that you might have more functionality on the iPod.

Imagine a 3" screen to view images and movies on?

D

You forgot plasma screens, OLED is what we will be watching TV on in the next few years.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by Tim Flynn
They are not cheaper (yet). OLEDs use more power than LCD. OLEDs are transmissive, hence need power.
But .... the view is way more cool than a LCD.

from the overview:

OLED displays are touted as the wave of the future because of their potential as thinner, lighter, brighter, and more durable screens. Unlike LCDs, which block or pass light through their layers, OLED displays use organic phosphors to generate their own light in a process called electroluminescence. Consequently, no power-draining backlighting is necessary.

They are brighter, thinner, and lighter than LCDs, and do not require a backlight. OLED's have a wider viewing angle, faster response time for video, and greater power efficiency than LCDs.

Now, maybe they're more efficient, that would seem to me that they'd take less power than an LCD.

In the case of an iPod, though, with a mono LCD, it might take less than a color OLED since it requires 3 transistors for each pixel and not one.

But regardless - for a color display, an OLED will draw less than a comperable LCD.

D

[Grimace]

I've seen the mockups for large screens. Forget everything you've ever thought about LCDs, CRTs in the past.... Imagine watching your 36" tv screen - and then rolling it up and taking it to grandma's with the kids for the weekend!

[technocoy]

the gameboy advance SP doesn't use a backlight... it's in front of the screen with an optical reflecting sheet across the lens that distibutes the light across the screen evenly, and no it's not that great.

technocoy

[Mudbug]

Could this be the thinking behind the "stereoscopic" displays we heard about a little while back? Maybe having a few layers of the OLED's stacked on each other with a common backlight would give the visual realism of 3D depth - just a thought. Lower power consumption per panel than LCD would mean more umph in multiple without having a new power brick to sit on the floor.

[shecky]

i had a Motorola Timeport phone also, with the OLED display. i got rid of it because you can not see it in direct sunlight. i can only hope this issue is resolved before Apple uses the technology.

[altivec 2003]

Originally posted by technocoy
the gameboy advance SP doesn't use a backlight... it's in front of the screen with an optical reflecting sheet across the lens that distibutes the light across the screen evenly, and no it's not that great.

technocoy

Oh, i have heard of the SP, but I don't follow consoles too closely. I guess the OLEDS would still work better in that case from what you say. Also if they are more power efficient it could mean better battery life. Oh well. I would rather see a cheaper cinema display or an ipod with longer battery life than a gameboy cause my parents have a policy of "NO GAMING CONSOLES". Thats why i have a playstation emulator. Well, anyway... that was way off topic. Sorry.

[edit]I guess i cant type [/edit]