Persian Penguin Network

Thought Windows on ARM was snazzy? Have a gander at this. The outfit’s forthcoming ARMv8 architecture, the first ARM architecture to include a 64-bit instruction set, has just been detailed, with a goal to expand the reach of ARM processor-based solutions “into consumer and enterprise applications where extended virtual addressing and 64-bit data processing are required.” The ARMv8 architecture consists of two main execution states — AArch64 and AArch32 — and we’re apt to see the real benefits hit high-end servers first. The ARMv8 architecture specifications are available now to partners under license, with the company planning to disclose processors based on ARMv8 during 2012, with consumer and enterprise prototype systems expected in 2014. Head on past the break for ARM’s take, or meander to the source links for AppliedMicro’s gloating.

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(Reuters) – Samsung Electronics, the world’s No.1 memory chip maker, said it started mass production at a new $10 billion chip line, as it seeks to raise its share in the booming flash memory chip market fueled by robust demand growth in mobile products.

Samsung’s new production line, its first in about five years, will help the company sharply lower production costs of the chips and could exacerbate oversupply in the market, stifling smaller rivals.Apple Inc, the maker of popular iPhones and iPads, and Sony, which joined the crowded tablet market last month with two new devices, buy flash memory chips from Samsung.The cost-competitive facility will make it difficult for its major customers to shift away to other suppliers.Apple, Samsung’s biggest customer locked in a series of patent legal battles with the South Korean firm, is trying to reduce sourcing from the emerging competitor.”The new line won’t have any immediate impact on the supply side, as it will take some nine months to fully raise capacity run rates, but it shows Samsung’s attempt to take more share in the flash chip market,” said Song Myung-sup, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities.Samsung, the world’s biggest technology firm by revenue, on Thursday said the new line was the industry’s largest and most advanced memory fabrication facility, producing chips with 20-nanometre class processing technology.Lower line-widths processing technology allows more circuits on a chip, making them smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more energy efficient.By 0355 GMT, shares in Samsung dropped 3.4 percent, versus a 3.3 percent drop in the broader market.

By  Reuters

You’ve got to hand it to IBM’s engineers. They drag themselves into work after their company’s 100th birthday party, pop a few Alka-Seltzers and then promptly announce yet another seismic invention. This time it’s a new kind of phase change memory (PCM) that reads and writes 100 times faster than flash, stays reliable for millions of write-cycles (as opposed to just thousands with flash), and is cheap enough to be used in anything from enterprise-level servers all the way down to mobile phones. PCM is based on a special alloy that can be nudged into different physical states, or phases, by controlled bursts of electricity. In the past, the technology suffered from the tendency of one of the states to relax and increase its electrical resistance over time, leading to read errors. Another limitation was that each alloy cell could only store a single bit of data. But IBM employees burn through problems like these on their cigarette breaks: not only is their latest variant more reliable, it can also store four data bits per cell, which means we can expect a data storage “paradigm shift” within the next five years. Combine this with Intel’s promised 50Gbps interconnect, which has a similar ETA, and data will start flowing faster than booze from an open bar on the boss’s tab. There’s more detailed science in the PR after the break, if you have a clear head.

Source : Engadget

An Apple patent in the US has shown the company exploring the idea of LCDs with switchable privacy levels. A screen on a device like an iPad, iPod, or Mac would have a “scattering module” behind the screen, as well as wedge-like liquid crystal elements in the screen itself, that would steer the lights going through the display. Toggling a privacy mode on the device would narrow the cone of light so that someone couldn’t spy on the screen while still giving the owner a clear view when looking head-on.

Along with its effect on mobile devices, Apple covered as many potential use cases as possible, including the idea of using it for a driver-only display in a car. Apple didn’t limit the technology to LCDs and opened the possibility to OLED, the largely defunct SED, and even carbon nanotube screens. iPods were used as example drawings but are believed to just be placeholders and not indicative of any design plans.

Apple filed for the patent in November 2009 and likely developed it knowing the iPad and other devices were candidates. Patents like this aren’t necessarily indicative of Apple’s actual plans.

Privacy screens are common features on some notebooks today but are used primarily for corporate PCs and rely on basic film covers to achieve the effect. Apple’s strategy, if made real, could lead both to a truly integrated, user-controlled privacy display and expand it to truly mobile devices.

By Electronista

It’s pretty obvious that this year’s SID Display Week is shaping up to be a stage for the 300ppi extravaganza — Samsung and LG were first to announce their latest high pixel density LCDs, and then Toshiba chimed in with its 367ppi LCD for cellphones. Fortunately, fans of ePaper will also have something to look forward to here, as E Ink Holdings and Epson have just announced the co-development of a 300ppi ePaper display. To be exact, E Ink will be in charge of producing the sharp-looking 9.68-inch 2,400 x 1,650 display panel, whereas Epson will take care of the high-speed display controller platform to go with E Ink’s part. No availability has been announced just yet, but stay tuned for our eyes-on impression at the show.

By Engadget

Samsung will demonstrate an all-new 10.1-inch display at the SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium next week. Samsung’s new display will have a 2560 x 1600 resolution, far in excess of anything on the tablet market today. At 300 dpi, the display also compares favorably with the Retina Display resolution of Apple’s iPhone 4; meanwhile, Samsung claims the PenTile technology used in the display allows it to operate while drawing 40 percent less power.

It’s unlikely for a number of reasons that Apple will employ this exact display in the iPad 3. The 10.1-inch form factor exceeds the 9.7-inch size of the current iPad’s design, and the display resolution is also in excess of the pixel-doubled resolution of the iPad’s current 1024 x 768 display. The PenTile technology that’s made its way into displays for smartphones like Google’s Nexus One is also something Apple has shied away from thus far, preferring to stick with tech like in-plane switching (IPS) for its iPhones and iPads.

That having been said, Samsung’s new display does prove that high-res, tablet-sized displays are indeed possible without giving up power efficiency, which makes it all the more likely that we’ll see a Retina Display quality touchscreen in the iPad 3. It’s previously been rumored that Apple wanted to include such technology in the iPad 2, but was unable to do so because of high costs and manufacturing constraints. Although it’s looking less likely that rumors of a fall introduction of the iPad 3 will pan out, Samsung’s newest display does raise the chances of us seeing a vastly improved iPad display in 2012.

There’s no indication yet when this new display will find its way into Samsung’s Galaxy tablets; the company just announced the new display and won’t be demonstrating it until next week. However, if Samsung can find a way to mass-produce these displays and shoehorn them into the Galaxy Tab before Apple includes similar technology in the iPad, Samsung will finally have a major hardware advantage that it can hold over Apple’s more popular tablet line.

By TUAW

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd exhibited a 55-inch 3D LCD TV viewable with the naked eye at FPD China 2011, which is taking place from March 15 to 17, 2011, in Shanghai, China.

When a 3D image is being displayed, the number of viewpoints is nine, and the optimal viewing distance is 2.5 to 6m.

The new 3D LCD TV has a function to switch between 2D and 3D modes. The TV is equipped with an LCD panel whose optical refraction index can be changed in front of an LCD panel used for displaying images.

The first LCD panel functions as a lens and shows different images to the right and left eyes. And when the optical refraction index of the first LCD panel is not changed, the TV shows 2D images.

The specifications of the LCD panel for displaying images are as follows. Its pixel count, brightness and contrast ratio are 1,920 x 1,080 (full HD), 500cd/m² and 4,000:1. It uses a direct-lit CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) backlight unit.

“This is just a prototype,” a Samsung staffer said. “We can replace it with an LED backlight unit.”

As for when it will be commercialized, the staffer said, “We have not decided it yet, but it will take about three years to commercialize it.”

By : Tech-on!

Here it is, Apple’s latest creation sans the iOS 4.3 chains. The development community credits @comex with installing Cydia on this white iPad 2, and he’s apparently already hard at work on a public jailbreak. According to his Twitter feed, the hack required a brand new exploit, as previous bugs were squashed in iOS 4.3. We’ll keep you posted on when the hack’s ready for you to use, too.

by : @chpwn (Twitter)

NanoPhotonica, a developer of advanced materials, has perfected realizable, breakthrough QLED display technology that it is commercializing for mass production.
NanoPhotonica promise with the new S-QLED technology better picture quality than OLED-Displays, use 30 per cent less power, the price up to 75 per cent lower
The technology’s versatility across all display sizes is made possible through cost-effective ink jet printing that requires no vacuum deposition. A few days ago Samsung showcased the first full colour QLED Display.

Improvements have been made in image quality with the newer OLED technology, but high manufacturing costs, yield limitations and limited lifetime make it expensive and challenging for all but the smallest devices.
The company’s S-QLED technology improves on the picture quality and power consumption achieved by recently introduced OLED displays, while significantly reducing cost and improving lifetime well beyond what OLED can achieve. NanoPhotonica’s materials and design solution is cost-effective on the full range of displays from smartphones to large devices like TVs.

NanoPhotonica is currently working with several leading display manufacturers to commercialize devices based on its proprietary technology. Work at independent laboratories previously identified key performance advantages.

“Most current electronic products have LCD displays that are power hogs and provide picture quality that, as we all know, leaves a lot to be desired,” explains CEO Dr. Christopher Morton. “Improvements have been made in image quality with the newer OLED technology, but high manufacturing costs, yield limitations and limited lifetime make it expensive and challenging for all but the smallest devices.”

“NanoPhotonica has a game-changing approach to the materials, design and manufacture for displays,” adds Morton. “We’re excited by the benefits we bring to the industry and by the response we have had from major display producers worldwide. Our focus is to accelerate work with existing and new display partners to bring this QLED technology to market soon. Our materials are enabling similar advances in the solar industry, and we intend to announce more about those programs shortly.”

By OLED Display Network