Samsung’s Super AMOLED explained (Video)

We all know Samsung for the electronics they put out.  They feature some of the best LCD and LED televisions on the market and they continue to stun us with new phones.  But many people forget that Samsung is a technology company as well.  Every year, Samsung spends hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D to invent new technologies that will put them at the front of the market.  At this year’s Mobile world Congress in Barcelona, Samsung unveiled their new Super AMOLED screen for touch-screen devices.  The new technology will be featured in the Samsung Wave (powered by Samsung’s Bada OS) and the Samsung Beam (an Android powered handset with a built-in PicoProjector). 

So why do they call the new technology Super AMOLED?  Traditional TFT screens feature four different layers (back-light, LCD display, touch panel, and a glass or plastic windows).  Each layer adds to the complexity and cost of the display.  Newer AMOLED displays reduce the number of layers by one since the AMOLED layer does not need a back-light for illumination.  Samsung’s new Super ALOMED display takes it one step further by incorporating the touch panel into the AMOLED layer.  This helps reduce the cost of manufacturing while increasing the brightness since the light does not need to pass through an additional layer. 

I’m sure most consumers won’t really care if their phone has a Super AMOLED display or not, but the technology advancement that it offers translates into thinner handsets with improved battery life.  The Samsung Wave and Samsung Beam will be launching within the next few months in European markets.  The future of Super AMOLED displays could rest with the success of the two handsets.