An analysis of mobile-phone designs conducted by iSuppli Corp.'s Mobile Phone Display Teardown Service in 2004 confirms that handsets are making increased use of more advanced display technology, specifically colour TFT-LCD displays and higher-resolution screens.
One of the most significant changes in mobile phone display design in 2004 was the migration from monochrome to colour screens.
In 2004, 68% of all mobile phones shipped worldwide used colour displays, with the remaining 32% being monochrome. By 2008, colour displays will be virtually ubiquitous in new mobile phones, with a 96% penetration rate.
Among the colour-display phones, the mix is shifting toward higher-quality TFT displays, as price decreases make them a more viable alternative to the Colour-STN (C-STN) screens most commonly used now. iSuppli estimates that the market for TFT-LCD displays for mobile phones amounted to 241 million units in 2004. In 2005, the mobile phone TFT- LCD market will swell by 50% to reach 367 million units.
The trend toward colour was dramatically illustrated in the teardowns conducted by iSuppli last year.
iSuppli's Mobile Phone Display Teardown Service dissected 42 handsets in 2004. Among those, only one-the Nokia 1100-used a monochrome main display.
TFT-LCDs served as the main display in 65% of the phones torn down by iSuppli in 2004.
Among the various manufacturers of mobile phones, there was significant variation in the usage of TFT-LCDs.
All of the torn-down phones manufactured by Sharp Corp. used TFT-LCDs, giving it the highest TFT-LCD penetration rate of all phone makers. TFT-LCD penetration rates for other manufacturers were 80% for Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sony Ericsson, 71% for Motorola Inc. and 67% for Nokia. Along with having the lowest TFT-LCD penetration rate, Nokia also had the smallest cost per display.
An inhibiting factor for the wider adoption of TFT-LCDs is cost, which can significantly impact the Bill-of-Materials (BOMs) of handsets. However, there was rapid downward movement in TFT-LCD prices starting in the fourth quarter of 2004, making them more attractive as a substitute for C-STN.
Of the 17 phones torn down by iSuppli that featured a dual-display design, 11 used monochrome STN screens as secondary displays. Among the remaining six, C-STN was the popular technology for colour sub displays, due to its price advantage.
Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) sub displays will account for 33% of the sub-display market by 2005. An OLED was used as the sub display in the Samsung E710.
The Samsung Z105 and Samsung E310 were the only phones torn down by iSuppli that had TFT-LCD sub displays. None of the six Nokia phones used a dual-display clamshell design.
Among the phones torn down, 38% supported an approximate pixel format of QCIF, i.e. 128 by 160. For Nokia, the pixel count for its main display was lower, at 128 by 128, and only two of its models had resolutions of QCIF and higher.
In contrast, 71% of the Motorola phones torn down had a pixel count of QCIF+-i.e. 176 by 220-or higher. All of the eight Sharp and Samsung models boasted resolutions higher than QCIF.
Given the growth of shipments and rise of new technologies, the overall picture for mobile phone displays is getting sharper, bigger and more colourful every day. However, these bigger, sharper and fuller-colour displays are more expensive and inflate the BOM, restricting their use to high-end phones.
How companies use higher-end displays will depend on their market strategy and cost considerations."
Posted to the site on 21st February 2005
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/12082.php