Windows Phone Thoughts: Mobile Displays of the Future

"It no longer takes much foresight to imagine the mobile world of the future, a world in which smart phones and other handhelds combine voice and data communications, with a considerable amount of computing capabilities. Video will be part of the mix, too. Different handheld devices will have different orientations, of course. There will be PDA-like devices which focus on data, iPOD-like devices that are video capable and advanced cell phones, which for all their additional functionality are in the end just voice machines. But despite these different strengths, the multifunctional handheld devices of the future are going to require much better displays than the small LCD displays that have been typical of handhelds in the past."



This is a great article focusing on the research going into displays for mobile devices. It discusses everything from the good old LCD display to some of the newer technologies such as MEMS, liquid-crystal-on-silicon, and field emission displays (FEDs) - each having problems of their own, which has consequently slowed progress in the mobile display arena. It then goes on to discuss the emerging plastic electronics industry which uses technologies such as OLEDs and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and what all this means for the future. Overall, this article is well worth a read, and if you have a few minutes to spare, I suggest you check it out. I'm looking forward to the day when mobile devices sport brighter screens with more vibrant colours, less strain on a battery, as well as a lifecycle that gives current LCD technology a run for its money.