The next-generation iPad will feature a larger battery and a new camera, according to RepairLabs. The website obtained what it claims to be the rear shell of the upcoming iPad 3 from an industry insider in China. After examining the shell and comparing it to an iPad 2 case, RepairLabs noticed the mounts for the logic board were quite different, meaning the board itself will likely be a different shape. The rear case also apparently reveals that the iPad 3 will include a larger battery pack, in line with earli...

Samsung, Sharp, Innolux Corp, Hitachi, HannStar Display Corp, Chungwha Picture Tubes and Epson Imaging Devices Corp will pay a total of $553 million to settle accusations that the firms participated in an LCD price-fixing scheme. The price fixing resulted in inflation of display prices at the benefit of all companies involved, but at the cost of consumers. “This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs f...

Samsung will purchase Sony’s 50% share of S-LCD, a joint venture created by both companies in 2004, for $939.6 million. Both companies will continue to cooperate on the development of new LCD panel technology, however, and Sony says it hopes to “secure a flexible and steady supply” of LCD panels from Samsung moving forward. “With whole ownership of S-LCD, Samsung anticipates heightened flexibility, speed and efficiency in both panel production and business operations,” Samsung sa...

In early August, we reported that Apple started boosting its iPad 2 display panel orders with Samsung after LG’s panels failed to meet the iPad maker’s quality requirements. DigiTimes said on Friday that LG has addressed the quality issues and has now boosted its shipments back to their original levels. The South Korea-based company reportedly shipped 4 million 9.7-inch iPad 2 panels during the month of August, up from the 2.4-2.5 million it shipped in July, and it is expected to maintain its curr...

Apple may invest $1 billion in a Sharp LCD factory to ensure adequate production of screens for its iPhone and iPad, according to MF Global FXA Securities analyst David Rubenstein. Apple typically buys its LCD displays from Samsung, LG and Chimei Innolux, although recent reports have suggested the iPhone maker has boosted its orders with Samsung after LG failed to meet iPad 2 display requirements. However, Apple’s recent legal battles with Samsung in the United States, the European Union and Australia c...

Apple has started to test 2048 x 1536 resolution displays from LG and Samsung, both of which have secured deals to provide the iPad maker with LCD parts, Korea Times reported on Monday. “Apple’s upcoming iPad 3 will feature an improved display to support quad extended graphics (QXGA), a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio to provide full high definition (HD) viewing experience,” a source told the Korean news outlet. The source refers to the tablet as the “iPad 3...

Apple could cut Samsung from its list of part suppliers, an arrangement that is worth as much as $5 billion for Samsung, one analyst has suggested. “They have become more competitors and less partners and so I think Apple will definitely not be looking to Samsung as its go-to partner-of-choice for NAND flash,” Brian Marshall, a Gleacher & Co. analyst told The Globe and Mail. Apple could instead choose to get its NAND flash products from other companies, such as Hynix Semiconductor, Micron, and...

According to a new report from DigiTimes, Amazon is expected to ship a “conservative” 1-1.2 million of its new tablets during the third quarter — a time frame that’s in line with earlier reports that the online retailer would get its unannounced tablet out the door by August. Reportedly, orders from Amazon are the most positive of all tablet-builders so far, and the company is expected to demand as many as 2 million touch panel displays in August and September. While very little is known a...

Samsung’s profits fell 26% during the second quarter due to poor sales in its LCD display division, according to a report the company released today. The firm’s operating profits were $3.5 billion for the quarter, down from $4.7 billion from the same period last year. According to a survey from Bloomberg that included six analysts, the Korean company’s display arm is expected to post an operating loss of 3.5 billion won ($69 million), down from an 880 billion won ($827.2 million) profit duri...

Last week, Samsung announced that it will combine its LCD and semiconductor businesses. The move is expected to conceal poor LCD sales, but the head of the new combined business, Kwon Oh-hyun, has said that he expects the overall performance to falter during the second half of the year. “In the past, the semiconductor market tended to be weaker in the first half and stronger in the second half, but for this year, it is likely to remain flat throughout the latter half,” Kwon said according to The W...

Samsung will combine both its flat-panel display and semiconductor businesses into one unit, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Samsung’s display business wasn’t profitable during the first quarter and it’s on track for the same lackluster performance during the second quarter. Combined, however, the display and semiconductor businesses made up 70% of Samsung’s operating profits and 44% of the South Korean company’s revenue, The Wall Street Journal said. In other words, ...

There isn’t anything quite like a dual-core Android handset to brighten up your Saturday, huh? We have just spent some time with the Motorola DROID X2 for Verizon Wireless, and while the external casing hasn’t changed much, this is indeed a very new phone. For starters, like we mentioned, that super-fast 1GHz CPU that powered the original DROID X is now a screaming-fast 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor. If that wasn’t enough, the screen now features qHD resolution, bringing the LCD into mode...

Oh, you haven’t heard? Having a display with 326 pixels per inch (ppi) was so last year. In 2011, 367ppi reigns supreme. At this week’s SID 2011 conference, Japanese company Toshiba showcased a 4-inch LCD display with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution and an impressive pixel density of 367ppi. The screen, which will come to market sometime this year, has a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and is capable of displaying video in native 720p. Much has been made of screen pixel-density, thanks in part to Apple coi...

Samsung and its partner Nouvoyance have announced a new, 10.1-inch WQXGA display specifically designed for use in tablets. The panel utilizes Noyvoyance’s PenTile technology to “improve the brightness, resolution, contrast, and power consumption,” and packs a mind-numbing 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution. To put some perspective on that: the 27-inch LCD screen I’m currently using has a maximum display resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The display also boasts a pixel density of 300 dpi...