Green-er Apples ripe with LED backlights
The LED backlight revolution continues and this time it’s Apple that goes greener. DailyTech mentions that his Jobs-ness has plans to eliminate all fluorescent-based LCDs on Macs by the end of 2007, in favor of more energy efficient LED backlight display technologies. We’ve already seen the usability benefits of a brighter LED screen in UMPCs (shown), not to mention the positive impact on battery life; a gain of 10% in the portable power area isn’t uncommon.
This might be a bold statement, but I’ll put it out there for comments: at this point, every mobile computing OEM should either have LED backlit products or have plans to migrate their lines to offer LED backlit products in the near future. Aside from providing increased brightness, this is a great way to eek out a little more battery life, which is one of the top issues we face today in mobile computing.
there is no LED screen in q1….. confirmed info..
“every mobile computing OEM should either have LED backlit products or have plans to migrate their lines to offer LED backlit products in the near future.”
Well, since OEMs buy their LCDs from elsewhere, it’s not really up to them but up to the LCD manufacturers. And there are lots of issues with larger screens–which is why you see LED-backlights in smaller screens, such as the iPod and UMPC but not in laptops. Toshiba just announced a new line of LED backlit LCDs in late March. But the largest screen was 13.3 inches, which matches the MacBook. Forget the MacBook Pro or any of Apple’s Cinema displays.
JKK, thanks for the info; I checked in with Steve Paine on that after your comment because I hadn’t seen any confirmation. Steve indicated that the Q1P has a different filtering mechanism, but still uses a CCFL backlight, which explains my brightness. Doesn’t explain my battery life, but I’m not complaining.
Peter, don’t the OEMs have a choice of what LCD manufacturers to buy components from? You also mentioned we should ‘forget the MacBook Pro’, but Apple already has LED backlit panels for the 15-inch MBP. There are also HDTVs with LED backlighting that are much larger than notebook displays, i.e.: 50+ inches; the technology and parts are out there now.
“You also mentioned we should ‘forget the MacBook Pro’, but Apple already has LED backlit panels for the 15-inch MBP.”
Reference please?
“There are also HDTVs with LED backlighting that are much larger than notebook displays, i.e.: 50+ inches; the technology and parts are out there now.”
There are LED backlights for big TVs but the engineering required to get that working in a screen that is only half-an-inch wide (ie, the MacBook Pro) versus a two or three in wide TV is different.
For example, there’s a picture of an LED-backlit 21″ LCD display from NEC at http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/000980.html. Note the dimensions–it’s an inch thicker than Apple’s 23″ display.
I’m not saying it won’t happen, though. Only that jk’s “Everybody should have LED backlit panels now!” comment is a bit premature. While I’ll agree that they look better, I’d rather not have a MacBook Pro with an inch-thick screen.
Besides, I’m waiting for OLED…
Peter, thanks for the comments and thoughts. My MBP reference was based on the number of recent web reports that Apple is certifying LED backlit products for the 15-inch units. Those reports may or may not be accurate, but my guess is that they are. My overall thought that I didn’t word well is: we’re getting to the point from a technology and manufacturing perspective where devices should start transitioning to a more efficient backlighting approach. Thx!