Toshiba: bright ideas for screens

By RICHARD WOOD

Notebook manufacturer Toshiba is aiming to create screens that are both brighter and use less power.

The firm is testing Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology for use in computer and cellphone displays.

The technology is said to use a synthetic version of a chemical that occurs naturally.

The aim is to combine it with active matrix display technology and use phosphorescence to eliminatethe need for behind-the-screen lighting.

Australia and New Zealand marketing manager Mark Whittard said the technology would be incorporated in certain Toshiba cellphones by the end of the year.

Another technology demonstrated by Toshiba is a fuel cell battery that runs on methylated spirits and is likely to use a cartridge refilling system.

The development model shown off at the Cebit show in March in Hanover provides 10 hours of battery life and uses about a softdrink-can-full of liquid.

The aim is to further miniaturise the unit and extend battery life to three days by the end of next year.

Whittard said that by eliminating the power adapter, fuel cells would reduce weight, provide true wireless capability and be handy for New Zealanders in a power crisis.

Toshiba is also researching "flexible" poly-silicon screens.

Its existing high-end notebooks can bend a little as there is a small component of plastic in the glass. However it wants to develop screens with a lot more plastic that can be rolled up.

US firm E Ink is reported in Nature magazine to have demonstrated a black and white screen that rolls up into a 1cm-wide cylinder.

Another futuristic piece of technology that Toshiba is planning is an e-book that opens like a book, with two screens, wireless connectivity, and a Secure Digital slot for adding content.

But this is some way off. At the moment the "clamshell" notebook design is the popular format and is eating into the desktop PC market.

Toshiba is claiming 38 per cent market share of the notebook market for the first quarter and with 9300 notebooks sold is the No 2 PC brand, despite not offering regular desktop computers in New Zealand.