Apple laptops to get brighter, more energy efficient displays.

[Urbz]

http://thinksecret.com/news/0702leddisplay.html

Full article:

 

"February 1, 2007 - Apple's laptop offerings have sported the brightest displays on the market, a feature Apple has been quick to tout in its product announcements and that the company will continue to spearhead in 2007 and beyond as the it embraces a new generation of LCD panels.

 

The forthcoming displays will feature backlights illuminated by light emitting diodes (LED), a more energy efficient solution than the traditional cold cathode fluorescent backlights (CCFL) found in most LCD displays on the market today. In addition to their energy saving properties, LED backlights are also brighter and display superior color and consistency compared to CCFL backlights. In addition, the LED backlights are even thinner than today's already-thin CCFL backlights, which wil enable Apple to trim the width of its laptops even further.

 

At present, only two PC makers offer laptops with an LED-backlight display: Sony (a 13.3-inch model) and Fujistu (an 11.1-inch model that has been available for more than a year in Japan). Virtually every other PC maker is expected to deliver at least one laptop with an LED-backlight display this year as LCD panel makers improve the technology and reduce costs.

 

The cost of manufacturing a 13.3-inch display with an LED backlight is currently twice that of one with a CCFL backlight, sources say, and the price premium increases with display size due to the added difficulties of using LEDs with larger panels.

 

Accordingly, it is almost certain the technology will find its way into the 13.3-inch MacBook or 15.4-inch MacBook Pro before the 17-inch MacBook Pro or Apple's iMac and Cinema Display product lines. Based on where the technology currently stands, sources do not expect the latter to be illuminated by LED backlights until 2008, when the technology improves and manufacturing costs of such LCD displays declines to a level more on par with those featuring CCFL backlights.

 

As for a timetable for the laptops, sources believe Apple already has systems in development with the new displays and that production could begin as soon as later this quarter or, perhaps more realistically, some time in the second quarter. Intel is expected to launch a faster Core 2 Duo processor in the second quarter, the 2.4GHz T7700, which will give Apple an added incentive to upgrade its laptop offerings then.

 

Apple's high-end MacBook Pro currently features Intel's 2.33GHz T7600 processor, the fastest available Core 2 Duo processor in Intel's portfolio, and with laptop sales accounting for about 60 percent of Apple's computer sales—above industry averages—keeping its laptops fresh and at the top of the market is of utmost importance to the firm.

 

The T7700 will be the first Core 2 Duo Mobile processor from Intel to feature an 800MHz bus. The company recently disclosed that it plans to ship the first Extreme Edition Core 2 Duo processor for mobile applications some time in the third quarter, with speeds reaching 2.8GHz at launch. It remains unknown if Apple plans to adopt those faster processor at that time or if the company will wait for Intel's next-generation mobile processor, code-named Penryn, which is expected to ship by year's end."

[Guest goodtime]

A problem with LED displays is the dye in one of the Red, Green or Blue colors will age faster causing a color shift or change in temperature. LED displays do have awesome blacks, but over time these laptops could have some display problems.

 

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