Abstract

UMPC Panel Resolution to Be Improved in 2007

UMPC vendors have touted their products as mobile entertainment and work platforms, so their panels' resolution, brightness, color saturation, viewing angle, and contrast ratio specs must all be appropriate for this intended use. Of the six UMPC panels on display at FPD International 2006 a relatively small proportion of the products on display met the standards for high resolution, which is the key specification in PC products. A significant improvement in panels' resolution is expected at FPD International 2007.

UMPC Market Still in Introduction Phase

With the joint efforts of chip manufactures and IT hardware vendors, UMPC products have hit the market and are garnering attention from consumers and the news media alike. An analysis of the panels on display at FPD International 2006 reveals that Taiwanese companies are developing 7.0-inch WVGA products, while Japanese and Korean companies are developing 7.0-inch WSVGA, 4.8-inch WSVGA, and 8.9-inch WXGA products in an effort to expand the market. During the introduction phase of a product type there are often frequent changes to product specs and less brand loyalty is shown. For this reason, Japanese and Korean companies, who have both brand advantages and product design advantages, have reason to take the lead in the UMPC panel industry so they can control its future growth. To do this they work with UMPC product developers to develop suitable specs and display features, and as the market grows actively gain competitive knowledge and await the onset of the maturity phase, when companies who entered the market early can take advantage of their competitive advantages and continue to make profits. Taiwanese companies take a different approach, because their advantages lie in their abilities to mass produce products at low costs and meet mainstream demand for standardized products. UMPC products arrived in the market only recently but have tremendous potential. Smaller Taiwanese and international product system manufacturers, branded manufacturers, and contract manufacturers naturally hope that Taiwanese companies can supply them with UMPC panel solutions. Because UMPC products are in the introduction phase and still have not settled on a dominant design, smaller manufacturers do not have enough resources to develop and manufacture customized panels. So for Taiwanese manufacturers, making relatively standard 7.0-inch WVGA panels is the fastest strategy for gaining orders.

Appendix

Research Scope

This report examines panel manufacturers which participated in the FPD International 2006 exhibition held in Yokohama, Japan in the fall of 2006. The UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) panels exhibited at FPD International 2006 by Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese FPD panel makers are the focus of this research. Particular attention is paid to panel sizes, panel display technologies, panel display modes, panel resolutions, and other display features.

Panel resolutions higher than 160ppi are classified as high resolutions

Horizontal and vertical viewing angels wider than 130 degree and 110 degree respectively are classified as wide viewing angles

Panel brightness higher than 300 cd/㎡ is classified as high brightness

Panel contrast ratio above 300:1 is regarded as high contrast ratio

Panel color saturation above 50% is regarded as high color saturation

Product Lifecycle