Samsung unveils 160-degree viewable TFT screen

Samsung Electronics today switched on an enhanced design process that enables it to manufacture TFT and LCD displays that can be viewed at angles of up to 160-degrees.

The electronics giant said the improved manufacturing technique allows it to manufacture mobile displays 10in or smaller that offer ultra-sharp LCD images in a variety of low or high ambient lighting conditions.

The advance centres on adapting the company's proprietary PVA technology, which until now has been used to improve off-axis viewing characteristics for large LCDs, to develop small and medium-sized LCDs.

When combined with a transflective mobile display mode, the new mobile Super Wide View+ will enable a new generation of rotational, mobile multimedia displays, Samsung said.

According to the firm, conventional transmissive LCDs are difficult to view in high ambient light conditions, even with a backlight.

To solve this problem it has created a high-contrast, low-power, wide-angle mobile display that can be viewed with backlighting for indoor applications, or without a backlight by reflecting natural sunlight in outdoor environments.

Predicted uses for the screens include watching movies via digital multimedia broadcasting at an airport, viewing a game stored in a mobile handset's memory, or conducting a video conference in poor lighting or at a less than optimal viewing angle.

Samsung will begin mass production of the technology for high-end handsets in 2006. Later uses may include medium-sized audiovideo products, such as personal media players and car navigation systems.