From smartphones, computers, TV sets to car navigation systems, almost every devices display shape is rectangular. <\/p>\n
But this stereotype is likely to change soon, as display-makers work to come up with unique designs, such as circular, curved, ultrathin and flexible. <\/p>\n
Such displays, they say, are expected to be used more widely in auto interiors, for wearable devices and other internet-ready gadgets with the expansion of the internet of things. <\/p>\n
The need for higher-quality designs for displays has been growing, Akio Takimoto, chief technology officer at Tokyo-based Japan Display Inc., said during a news conference last month. <\/p>\n
Takimoto stressed that displays are not evolving merely in terms of their resolution and energy-saving functions, noting technologies are improving to change their shapes, such as making them edgeless, curved or flexible. <\/p>\n
Japan Display, which was founded in 2012 by combining the display sections of Hitachi Ltd., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., unveiled at the news conference a 5.5-inch-thin plastic liquid-crystal display called Full Active Flex. <\/p>\n
By using plastic, the display has become flexible, which means it can be bent or folded, said Takimoto. <\/p>\n
Japan Display, which supplies LCD panels for Apple Inc.s iPhones, said the 0.19-mm display has the potential to be used for smartphones as well as laptops and in-vehicle monitors. <\/p>\n
Using plastic also offers extra advantages compared with existing glass-based LCDs, Japan Display President Shuji Aruga said at the same news conference. <\/p>\n
For example, many people have broken their smartphone screens after accidently dropping their device. Plastic thin-film displays, however, wont crack, Aruga pointed out. <\/p>\n
Laptops can be considerably lighter with the plastic displays, making it easier for users to carry them around, he added. <\/p>\n
Flexible LCDs can also be used to produce stylish wearable devices, such as those that can be wrapped around a wrist. <\/p>\n
Japan Display said it aims to mass produce flexible displays in 2018. <\/p>\n
Looking at global markets, overseas manufacturers have already launched products using unconventional displays. <\/p>\n
South Koreas Samsung Electronics has been selling smartphones with a curved-screen edge, known as the Galaxy Edge series, while LG, also of South Korea, has produced TV sets with curved screens. <\/p>\n
Some analysts said that uniquely shaped displays are likely to make their debuts in the coming years. <\/p>\n
It has been a trend in the past several years for display makers to create bigger and thinner smartphone or TV panels, but I think that trend has kind of reached its limit, said Hiroshi Sakai, an analyst at SMBC Friend Research Center. <\/p>\n
Sakai said as a result manufacturers are developing displays that can be attached to devices or imbedded in different home electronics or outdoor spaces, to cultivate new markets, Sakai said. <\/p>\n
Sharp Corp. is also seeing business opportunities with the evolution of displays. <\/p>\n
The Osaka-based LCD manufacturer came up with Free-Form Displays, which are literally LCDs that can be cut into any shape. <\/p>\n
As smartphones increase in use, their display sizes and resolutions have been improving, becoming larger and clearer. <\/p>\n
However, when we thought about smartphones in terms of design and portability, we were discussing if the displays shape should be fixed to a rectangular shape, said Koji Fujiwara, director of technology planning at Sharps display unit. <\/p>\n
Sharp has developed rounded and curved displays, which the firm said can be used for various products. <\/p>\n
Fujiwara said auto interiors can easily accommodate Free-Form Displays, as car designers have said rectangular displays are no longer fashionable. <\/p>\n
They have been asking us whether we can somehow solve that issue, he said. <\/p>\n
Fujiwara said by freely changing the shape of displays, it has become possible to come up with a display that matches a curved center console. <\/p>\n
Allowing Sharp to produce displays with unique shapes is possible as a result of a technology that allows it to locate circuits more flexibly. <\/p>\n
Normally circuits are located at the edge of LCDs, such as within a frame. But Sharp managed to spread the circuits inwardly under the screen, doing away with the need for a pronounced edge. <\/p>\n
In the coming years, more home electronics, including refrigerators and audio devices, are expected to be connected to the internet. <\/p>\n
Fujiwa said it will mean that the products will need to be equipped with displays, including Free-Form Displays, which can be made into a round shape of about 3 inches, for example, to give greater freedom in designing more fashionable products. <\/p>\n
Sharp said it expects to see products with Free-Form Displays debut sometime this year. <\/p>\n
This monthly feature, appearing on the second Monday or the second Tuesday when Monday is a press holiday, looks at technologies still under development or new to the market. <\/p>\n
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New technology has display designers thinking outside the rectangle - The Japan Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From smartphones, computers, TV sets to car navigation systems, almost every devices display shape is rectangular. But this stereotype is likely to change soon, as display-makers work to come up with unique designs, such as circular, curved, ultrathin and flexible Continue reading