"Radical" New iPod With OLED Tech in 2004

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Think Secret



"Sources confirmed to Think Secret that Apple is investing in Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technology, and is researching and investigating its uses in Apple products. The company reportedly plans to use OLED in next-generation iPods next year.



OLED devices are composed of two conductors with organic thin films in between them. These films emit a bright light when a current is applied.



There are a number of advantages to OLED that make it suitable for portable use. 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. They are also more cost-effective, with a simpler manufacturing process and fewer required parts.



Apple's use of the technology will be for the display of its next-generation iPod. Set for announcement in early 2004, this iPod will boast a design and functionality radically different than current models. (Think Secret will publish a full report on this at a later date; If you have additional news to contribute, please contact us.)



Insiders also said that Apple is looking to expand OLED to its display line, or for its laptops, but that this isn't feasible for the early-2004 time frame."



Steve just said there would be no video iPod, so what will the "radical new functionality" be?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Mh. A graphical equalizer or visualization effects don't sound sensible to me.



    Maybe the radical new feature would be a more appropriate pricing?
  • Reply 2 of 20
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    While I don't know what 'radical' new features the new iPod w/OLED would bring.. One less than radical but still cool feature will be longer battery life and when Apple moves the book lines to OLED the bat savings should be even more impressive.



    Dave
  • Reply 3 of 20
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    How long will it be before you not only play the song, but can watch the video as well?



    Does this new tech. bring that possibility any closer?
  • Reply 4 of 20
    macsrgood4umacsrgood4u Posts: 3,007member
    OLED technology has been trumpeted for several years now. But I believe the largest display yet produced is about 20* inches. No full scale manufacturing of this size is available yet. OLED displays have been used on cell phones and car radios. When they were fist announced, proponents said large OLED displays would be widely available now, but they aren't. New technology takes time and money to ramp up. We'll see I guess.



    *per post below.
  • Reply 5 of 20
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacsRGood4U

    OLED technology has been trumpeted for several years now. But I believe the largest display yet produced is about 10 inches. No full scale manufacturing of this size is available yet. OLED displays have been used on cell phones and car radios. When they were fist announced, proponents said large OLED displays would be widely available now, but they aren't. New technology takes time and money to ramp up. We'll see I guess.



    Double that size...



    Quote:

    Tainan/Taiwan, March 12, 2003 -- Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corporation (CMO) of Taiwan today announced a fully functional prototype of a 20-inch full-color display based on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The revolutionary prototype by International Display Technology (IDTech, a subsidiary between Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corporation and IBM Japan, located in Yasu (Japan)) was jointly developed with IBM Research laboratories in Switzerland, the US and Japan. At the core of the breakthrough is the use of amorphous silicon transistors enabling low-cost fabrication. The technology will provide competitive full-size computer displays and flat-panel TV screens that consume less power than possible with flat panel technologies available today. The demonstration will be launched in May at CMO and IDTech?s showcase at SID 2003, USA.



    Full PR: http://www.idtech.co.jp/en/news/press/20030312.html



    Dave
  • Reply 6 of 20
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    The prospect of a display that requires no backlight seems usefull...imagine a Powerbook with a .5 CM screen thickness and no irregular backlighting. Wafer-thin laptops would be chic. And as for the iPods, an 8-color display would be nice, not for video purposes, but just to give some color to navigating your library. maybe the calendar could have color, enabling you to color-code your schedule. And frankly, I'd like to see a little blue apple in the top corner of the screen.
  • Reply 7 of 20
    moliumoliu Posts: 42member
    Now that pc's have the centino chip for the notebooks. The battery life some pc makers calm battery life up to 7 hours. In fact cnet did a review on one and it did say according to their test it did live up to expectation.



    While back home, my ibook still only runs for 2.5 hours even though it calms to run up to 5 hours. The closest that I can get was 4.5 hours (when it was brand new). I really hope that apple will come out with OLED and a ultra-low voltage chip so that we can be ahead of the pc market again.

    And maybe they should fix up the battery issue...
  • Reply 8 of 20
    fred_ljfred_lj Posts: 607member
    I guess they'd have to go back to Titanium for that thin of a display (); the TiBook's is almost too thin (in a fragile, not chic, way) already! Heh.



    I think the real excitement for OLEDs was the idea brought up that they could be used for extremely portable, yet huge displays. I.E., don't think inside the metal housing. Put the display inside a resilient nylon or polyurethane film casing, and then you can roll up a 40" display to take whereever you might need to; just clip it to a presentation board or hang up on the wall, run power/video to your laptop or computer.
  • Reply 9 of 20
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    one thing the article fails to mention is that LCDs have one major advantage over OLEDs... lifespan. if someone can link to an article re: this, i believe the average number of hour of operation for an OLED display is a fraction of LCD (wish i could find that link)...
  • Reply 10 of 20
    kidredkidred Posts: 2,402member
    Come on people, OLEDS are film, they can be rolled up and yet you have a hard time imagining a radical new ipod? This is the tech that will replace LCDs and Plasma, I guess they'd hurry up and make my 46" HD TV.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    geddoegeddoe Posts: 45member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ensign Pulver



    Steve just said there would be no video iPod




    What Powerpage said he said is "Not much of a market for watching movies or showing photos on iPods or other small devices. Screen too small until someone invents a great folding screen."



    Now go read the comment by fred_lj about screens that roll up.
  • Reply 12 of 20
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Geddoe

    What Powerpage said he said is "Not much of a market for watching movies or showing photos on iPods or other small devices. Screen too small until someone invents a great folding screen."



    Now go read the comment by fred_lj about screens that roll up.




    Bingo.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    fred_ljfred_lj Posts: 607member
    I just got done talking with my dad (a chem engineer with a notable German company, four letters, biggest in the world) about this, and he said for it to have the kind of resiliency that would be desirable (i.e., for the display not to curl up when you're trying to unroll and actually display it), fiberglass would be the best to encase it in, or a specially-formed nylon. Think about a fiberglass fishing pole -- it springs right back, even after towing in a "biggun." The same would work for the display, with the tension adjusted so it were perhaps a little less than a fishing pole. But roll it up, then put on some kind of clamp to hold it together (metal band prolly).
  • Reply 14 of 20
    mellomello Posts: 555member
    Another negative thing about OLED's that a friend mentioned to me was that the color would shift over time. I don't know if that's still the case though but that wouldn't be acceptable for a laptop.

    Also I heard that an LCD's lifespan is approximately 15,000 hours compared to 5,000 for a OLED screen. Is that still true or have they improved the lifespan?

  • Reply 15 of 20
    bperkinsbperkins Posts: 110member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mello

    Also I heard that an LCD's lifespan is approximately 15,000 hours compared to 5,000 for a OLED screen. Is that still true or have they improved the lifespan?





    If LCD's only last 15000 hours then my brand new 17" PB is only got 5 or so years left. Poor guy.
  • Reply 16 of 20
    frawgzfrawgz Posts: 547member
    Folding sounds more practical than "rolling" to me. I don't think there are any hard drives on the market that can roll up.
  • Reply 17 of 20
    fred_ljfred_lj Posts: 607member
    True, but I don't think the rolled-up OLED would be at all applicable to the iPod's 'radical' new feature. Folding would not feel right to me at all, like it's being broken or something.



    I think the rolling-up thing is more suited towards traveling, business folk at expos/etc. Would save a LOT of hassle for all the tech guys involved in big extravaganzas like that. And if you're going somewhere unsure of the projector equipment, this would also solve that problem.



    For the iPod, OLED is ONLY going to replace the screen that's LCD now. Keep in mind what someone mentioned above, the viewing angle on an OLED is INCREDIBLE! Beautiful!! I've seen one on a Kodak digital camera that TechTV was demo'ing and it looked great from every angle through a TV camera!



    This is where the advantage is for Apple and OLED; never having to mess around with the iPod in its dock to see its screen. And that would be the advantage for OLED usage in general; no backlight, no severe limitations on viewing angle. If they can be made cheap, then the shorter lifespan isn't such an issue.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    snowysnowy Posts: 8member
    Two bits of info.



    I think the only reason the timetable for OLEDs looks like soon for the iPod is because DuPont just announced a big push to support them. All the other players I've heard of are small fries.



    The 'roll-up' OLEDs are not in the same time frame as the OLEDs that they are talking about for the iPod. My understanding is that they are working on getting the plastic right so that they can mate the organic compounds to it.



    Follow this link for more accurate information ...

    found on MacRumors page ...
  • Reply 19 of 20
    @homenow@homenow Posts: 998member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by KidRed

    Come on people, OLEDS are film, they can be rolled up and yet you have a hard time imagining a radical new ipod? This is the tech that will replace LCDs and Plasma, I guess they'd hurry up and make my 46" HD TV.



    OLED's have about the same chance of replacing LCD's and Plasma as TV's as EPaper does (well maybe a bit more if they could solve the lifespan limits). If I recall right there is another technology developed by IBM that is starting to make its way into projection TV's that uses a series of mirrors controlled by a chip (on a chip?) that has a good chance of replacing the CRT's. LDC's and Plasma both have inhearent problems and high prices. LCD's, and I imagine OLED's will have them as well, have a problem with "dead pixels". I dont know about you, but If I paid $5000 for a LCD TV I would be really mad if I got it home and it had dead pixels. Plasma has a problem displaying "true" blacks if I remember correctly. Some of these problems will be overcome as manufacturing technology improves I'm sure, but I wouldnt want to bet on one of them bieng the next VHS, and another Beta based on how they stand today.
  • Reply 20 of 20
    cliveclive Posts: 720member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Geddoe

    Now go read the comment by fred_lj about screens that roll up.



    Actually, you?ve got it wrong, Apple are going for inflatable designs - that way you can get keyorads that go in your pocket too.



    Roll up screens for an iPod - get real!?
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