World’s Thinnest Cell Phone Display

Samsung Electronics has developed what it claims is the thinnest LCD (liquid crystal display) pane—just as slim as a credit card—for use in mobile phones.

The svelte screen is 0.82 millimeters thick and, combined with a new method for attaching the panel to devices, will allow manufacturers to shave between 1.4 mm and 2.4 mm from the thickness of their phones, Samsung says. The screens, which offer a resolution of 240×320 pixels, will

be available in two sizes—2.1 and 2.2 inch diagonal. Samsung expects to mass-produce them starting in the second half of 2007.

Since the popularity of Motorola’s super-thin phones, including the Razr, phone makers are increasingly trying to make skinnier phones. The Razr flip phone is 13.9 mm thick.

The LCD size reduction comes partly from a new assembly technology developed by Samsung called iLens. Most phone screens use a piece of reinforced plastic that sits a few millimeters above the LCD to protect it. With iLens, Samsung found a way to attach a protective sheet directly onto the display in a way that also improves its shock resistance and readability.

In addition, the technique makes the display easier to read outdoors, because it eliminates the reflection that occurs on the plastic sheet used in existing designs, Samsung says.

Recently Samsung also announced that it will put a 1 GHz StrongArm processor inside a mobile phone next year.