HTC to switch to LCDs for phones due to AMOLED crunch

HTC logoHTC will have to switch many if not all of its phones from AMOLED displays to LCDs due to a supply crisis at Samsung, Korean cell carrier KT said this week. Samsung's insistence on reserving the already scarce supply for the Super AMOLEDs in the Galaxy S has left HTC with no choice but to use LCDs for the Desire, Droid Incredible and Nexus One, three of its most important phones. The current shortfall was enough to push back the Korean Nexus One launch a month to July.

All of the phones will instead use Sony's high-grade Super TFT LCD to dampen any perceived loss in quality.

The switch may be crucial not just to HTC but to Android as a whole. As the most important Android phone producer in the world, HTC may have stalled sales in the US and Europe by choosing AMOLED and constricting supply. Verizon has claimed it could sell twice as many Droid Incredibles if it had ready supply, but instead it has had to tell customers that any new orders won't ship for a month. In Korea, the delay could be enough to negate any early move advantage for HTC on KT, which also carries the iPhone and will now have the iPhone 4 the same time as the Nexus One arrives.

The decision also explains Apple's choice to go with an IPS-based LCD for the iPhone 4 instead of the AMOLED that some had thought it needed to use. While the Retina Display may have spurred on shortages of its own, Apple is using the much larger manufacturing resources for LCD and won't be as prone to losing supply as it would with AMOLED. Technical advantages also play a part, as AMOLED has better color reproduction and battery life but is very hard to see outdoors and is usually expensive.

Production of AMOLEDs may not improve by a significant amount until July 2011, when Samsung's 5.5-generation plant goes online and it can make 10 times as many screens as it can today. Samsung has a monopoly on AMOLED with 98 percent of production and thus doesn't have a viable alternative if it runs out of displays for anyone else.

Source: electronista

Tags: HTC, mobile phones, Samsung

Comments
Add comment

Your name:
Sign in with:
or
Your comment:


Enter code:

E-mail (not required)
E-mail will not be disclosed to the third party


Last news

 
Galaxy Note10 really is built around a 6.7-inch display
 
You may still be able to download your content
 
Facebook, Messenger and Instagram are all going away
 
Minimize apps to a floating, always-on-top bubble
 
Japan Display has been providing LCDs for the iPhone XR, the only LCD model in Apple’s 2018 line-up
 
The 2001 operating system has reached its lowest share level
 
The entire TSMC 5nm design infrastructure is available now from TSMC
 
The smartphone uses a Snapdragon 660 processor running Android 9 Pie
The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) Review
The evolution of the successful smartphone, now with a waterproof body and USB Type-C
February 7, 2017 / 2
Samsung Galaxy TabPro S - a tablet with the Windows-keyboard
The first Windows-tablet with the 12-inch display Super AMOLED
June 7, 2016 /
Keyboards for iOS
Ten iOS keyboards review
July 18, 2015 /
Samsung E1200 Mobile Phone Review
A cheap phone with a good screen
March 8, 2015 / 4
Creative Sound Blaster Z sound card review
Good sound for those who are not satisfied with the onboard solution
September 25, 2014 / 2
Samsung Galaxy Gear: Smartwatch at High Price
The first smartwatch from Samsung - almost a smartphone with a small body
December 19, 2013 /
 
 

News Archive

 
 
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930




Poll

Do you use microSD card with your phone?
or leave your own version in comments (16)