セット Archives - 15ページ目 (18ページ中)

[MWC2015] Smart Watch Market, Struggle Expected in Google OS Sector

2015年 3月 5日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

In MWC2015, various companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Huawei, and Asus, exhibited smart watch. Since 2014, Samsung Elec. and LG Elec. began to sell smart watch, Asus and Huawei are shipping smart watch equipped with rigid AMOLED panel. Apple, a latecomer but also strongest rival, is planning to actively sell smart watch, with LG Display’s plastic OLED, from April.

From the outside, all 5 companies have smart watch with AMOLED, but other than Apple which uses iOS, and Samsung Elec. that uses Tizen, the insides of the other 3 companies are the same. This is because they use Google OS. Hence the software of these 3 companies’ products are similar, and without the smart watch exterior the functions are almost identical. The only differentiations are due to smart watch design. Huawei’s smart watch face design is similar to LG Elec.’s, and the back design practically cannot be distinguished from LG Elec.’s products.

In MWC2015, Google sector showed how difficult it would be for any company to conquer the market.

[MWC2015] Trend Analysis of Samsung Electronics Exhibition Strategy

2015年 3月 4日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

Samsung Electronics, Apple, and Xiaomi can be considered the big 3 brands in smart phone market. Of these 3, only Samsung Elec. opened a booth in MWC2015. Apple and Xiaomi do not participate in offline exhibitions; Apple always holds independent introduction events for new products, and Xiaomi only handles online sales. The reason that Apple holds their own exhibition is due to their use of operating system, iOS, different from other companies’ Android system, and also their unrivaled position as the inventor of smart phone. They also have the ability to create buzz in world market through independent product reveal and promotion. Compared to this, Xiaomi is considered Apple’s imitator but in order to sell low-priced smart phone, having no offline stores is actually beneficial. As smart phone market within China occupies approx. 50% of world market, there is yet no need to promote the products overseas.

However, the situation for Samsung Elec., having to compete against Apple and Xiaomi, is different. They have to compete against Apple in high-priced smart phone market, and compete against Xiaomi’s mid-to-low priced smart phone that uses the same Android OS in Chinese market.

Samsung Elec.’s concerns were evident in MWC2015. Above all, for their flag ship model Galaxy S6, they chose to use exhibition strategy that could aptly present a mystical image of a ‘creation’ rather than a ‘product’.

First, regular visitors were allowed to see, but not touch. Second, by placing each product in pillar-shaped exhibition box in 2 rows with plenty of space in between, the area was reminiscent of a high-end designer store. The visitors were able to examine the 4 sides of Galaxy S6.

This concept of differentiated exhibition space demonstrated Samsung Elec.’s talent for marketing. Their emphasis on Galaxy S6 as a ‘creation’ rather than a ‘product’ showed their concern for maintaining their place within the high-end smart phone market

Samsung, Galaxy S6, MWC2015

Most of the mid-to-low price phones released by Samsung Elec. since last year were presented. Excluding Galaxy Z series, only available in certain countries, all of E series and A series were exhibited. Products that appeared on the market in the second half of 2014, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab, were also displayed in the same space.

Most of the companies utilize the exhibition space as a singular area. However, to suit world’s leading brand, Samsung Elec. applied an outstanding use of location by utilizing it as a dual space; existing products were displayed on the surface of the exhibition area, and Galaxy S was displayed in the deep creating the sensation of falling into Samsung.

Galaxy S6 Edge, MWC2015

[MWC2015] Smart Watch Trend, LG Electronics is On It

2015年 3月 3日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

The rapidly rising product to become the key item for IoT industry is a wearable device, smart watch. Various companies are already producing numerous products for the smart watch market. Beginning with smart band, the majority of smart watches had square face, but since LG Electronics joined this market, the trend started to change into a classic watch design.

In 2014, LG Elec. revealed G Watch in various events and became involved in its sales. Following the existing watch, they employed high-end sports watch design. While many experts estimated smart device with differentiated design from existing watches would become popular, the actual market responded to a round faced watch design, more familiar to the public after more than 100 years of use.

Subsequent to G Watch, LG Elec. revealed LG Watch Urbane in MWC2015. Compared to G Watch, Urbane arrived with higher class appearance.

Chinese set company Huawei introduced a smart watch with round shaped AMOLED in MWC2015, reacting to the success of G Watch. Samsung Elec. is also expected to release circular faced device for the next smart watch.

<Urbane, LG Electronics>

<Huawei watch, Huawei>

[MWC2015] Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy 6 and the ‘ultimate weapon’ Galaxy S6 Edge

2015年 3月 3日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

Samsung Electronics, currently leading the world’s smart phone market along with Apple, showcased intensively developed Galaxy 6 and the ‘ultimate weapon’ Galaxy S6 Edge.

Following Galaxy S5, S6 used rigid AMOLED panel. However, Galaxy S6 Edge, following Galaxy Note 4 Edge, used flexible AMOLED and chose a new design where both sides of the edge are curved.

At the Samsung Elec.’s unpack event, held a day before the opening of MWC2015, Samsung Elec. CEO JK Shin was confident that everything changed except for the name. Galaxy S6 is Samsung Elec.’s ‘ultimate weapon’ where they concentrated all of their efforts in order to rectify S5’s slump. Galaxy S6’s 64-bit, 14-nanometer AP, 577ppi flexible AMOLED, and wireless charging technologyare such efforts. Its design that includes metal body, 2-sided edge, and graceful curves that link display and body is also a masterpiece that was not seen in any other products.

The main reason that Samsung Elec. could apply artistic design was flexible AMOLED produced by Samsung Display. It allowed the product to express the elegantly curved lines of hanbok, Korean traditional dress, through the main body and arched 4-sided corners. Furthermore, the chemistry of the glistening metal body together with the deep blue, a first for flexible AMOLED, can cut the most appealing figure of the existing smart phones.

<Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung>

The Reason WRGB OLED TV Can Only Succeed

2015年 2月 27日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

It has already been 2 years since OLED TV entered the market. LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics opened the market together with the release of 55 inch FHD OLED TV, but currently the market is developing around LG Elec. and some Chinese set companies.

Samsung Elec.’s OLED TV is using RGB OLED structure similar to the OLED panel applied to Galaxy series, and LTPS TFT. On the other hand, LG Elec. is using WRGB OLED, developed by LG Display, and oxide TFT.

However, Samsung Elec. stopped OLED TV production in the second half of 2013, and began to express negative opinions regarding OLED TV industry since CES2014. They determined OLED TV to be underdeveloped and required approximately 3 more years of further work. Also, as 8 mask of LTPS TFT or oxide TFT was used to develop OLED panel for TV, and therefore higher cost compared to LCD, Samsung and many other display experts continued to view it negatively. Various media was filled with unfavorable articles particularly regarding whether LG Display alone could maintain the OLED panel industry which required massive amount of investment.

Despite this, WRGB OLED received legitimate recognition with the start of 2015. First, with the 3 stack tandem OLED structure and HDR technology, they were able to provide sharper picture quality than LCD with the peak intensity of up to 800 nit. Second, 8 mask oxide TFT production processes were reduced to 4 mask production and lowered investment cost, which led to a more reasonable panel price.

The halved number of masks in the TFT production signifies that the number of processes can be reduced and increase the yield rate. It also means the amount of large scale investment essential to the TFT production can be reduced by 50%.

The rival display of LCD mostly uses 4 mask process of a-Si TFT. If the existing Gen8 line, with capacity of 200K, is changed to LTPS TFT or 8 mask oxide TFT process, the capacity is reduced to approx.. 90K and increases the TFT production cost by more than 200%. However, in 4 mask production, the LCD line can be altered to TFT exclusive line for OLED without any loss of capacity; this would place the TFT production cost on the same level as LCD. Of course, as the existing line can be used without additional factory construction will reduce the investment cost even further.

Therefore, if OLED is developed using 4 mask oxide TFT technology, theoretically the production cost falls to the level of LCD panel production price excluding BLU. As the large area OLED panel market is in early stages, the OLED evaporator and encapsulation equipment price is still high, but the equipment price will fall rapidly within 2-3 years and the investment cost is also expected to be reduced.

The display market research organizations are estimating the large OLED panel price to be at least $3,000, but according to the 2015 Annual Report by UBI Research, the LG Display’s 55 inch FHD OLED panel price is only expected to be around $900, and a 55 inch UHD OLED panel is to be around $1,400. UBI Research analyses that there is some difference from the actual sales price as LG Display’s M2 line production and yield rates are low, but if the full capacity of 26K is reached and the yield rises to above 80%, the current supply price can easily be met. Particularly if the large scale mass production system is established with the addition of M3 and M4 lines, it is predicted that OLED panel price will be reduced so that there will only be 1.1 times difference compared to LCD panel.

There are many experts who mistakenly predict that large area OLED panel, which has higher price tag compared to the continued investment cost as it is still in early stages, will fall behind LCD’s cheaper price strategy. However, much like how TFT-LCD overwhelmed the Braun-tube market, OLED TV will also be a household item within a few years.

2015 Annual Report by UBI Research writes that in 2016 when M2 line will be operating normally, approx. 1.7 million units of UHD OLED panel production will be possible, and predicts the investment of M3 line in 2016, with the shipment of approx. 2.7 million units of OLED TV in the market in 2017. This is a much weaker figure compared to the almost 200 million units of LCD panel market for TV, but within the new UHD TV market with 55 inch or higher it is expected to hold a large market share.

<LG Elec. OLED TV, CES2015>

Feast of Plastic OLED

2015年 1月 26日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

LG Electronics unveiled its secret weapon, G Flex2 at CES2015. Produced with the plastic OLED from LG Display, the smart phone G Flex2 features relatively enhanced resolution from the HD level resolution to FHD (403ppi) though the display has reduced from 5.99-inch to 5.5-inch when compared to the existing G Flex released in 2013.

G Flex2 is the up to date curved smart phone equipped with the latest 64bit Octa-Core CPU and Snapdragon 810 processor from Qualcomm. The frontal curvature of 700R is also the same as in the G Flex, but the backside is 650R, increasing the sense of grip. For its 700R display, it provides much better sound quality by reducing the gap between the user’s face and the phone. With the self-healing back cover as in the G Flex, it just removes various scratches occurred in daily life.

LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics sold the curved smart phones in 2013 at the same time. LG Electronics’ G Flex was the same panoramic design as now but Samsung Electronics competed by releasing a smartphone curved from left to right to emphasize a firm grip.

[Wearable Expo Japan 2015] A wearable to take over the future electronics industry

2015年 1月 15日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

With increasing interests in wearable devices, the first Wearable Device Technology Expo 2015 was held on January 14, 2015 at the Tokyo Big Sight including the participating companies of the batteries and electric parts/materials such as a sensor, display, etc. which are to be used for wearable devices. The host announced that the event in 2016 will be about four times larger than this year proving the increased interests in associated industries and expected a drastic growth of the wearable device industry.

The first speaker of the Commemorative Session, Hideyuki Saso, the President of Fujitsu Laboratories, presented that the key for a wearable device is ICT (Information & Communication Technology) which enables every device wearable as applying a sensor and connecting system.

Tomokazu Tajima, the senior vice president of Sony, pointed out ‘co-creation’ as the keyword. He said that the issue for a wearable device is creating a new application through a co-work practice among other players in the industry. Also he estimated high market opportunities of the wearable device industry.

Among 150 companies submitted for the exhibition, WESTUNITIS showed the glasses using the micro display and PPP presented the smart glasses controlling display through hand gestures by employing a sensor and camera at the end of the glasses.

In addition, there were other wearable devices receiving fervent responses as using the glasses, smart watch and sensor including the system automatically informing the work process as linked with a display and embedded sensors in a pair of gloves and glasses, or the system operating a robot to follow the movements of a human wearing the device with a sensor installed in the arm area.

<West units’s wearable device>

<PPP’s smart glasses>

CURVED, the keyword for Samsung Electronics in 2015

2015年 1月 15日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

The principal design for the TVs and monitors exhibited in the Samsung Electronics booth at CES 2015 can be summed up as ‘curved.’ Starting from the OLED TV at the TV market, the LCD TV also announced a variety of curved designs and bendable TV with adjustable curvature.

Furthermore, Samsung Electronics presented 27inch and 34inch SEC 790C monitors introducing the concept of curved design in a monitor. The 34inch ultra-wide curved monitor is a 21:9 aspect ratio featuring a resolution of 3,440 x 1,440 pixels (ultra WQHD) with the static contrast ratio of 3,000:1. The curvature is 3,000R and the wide viewing angle is 178°.

Securing various products with curved properties from TV and smart watch to monitor, Samsung Electronics positions as a leading company pioneering the curved electronics.

<Samsung Electronics curved monitor (L) and multivision display with standard monitors connected (R)>

[CES2015] Samsung’s love for OLED is at cross with that of LG

2015年 1月 12日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット, フォーカス・オン /作成者: OLEDNET

OLED is the only electronic appliance made in Korea which is commensurate with the modifiers such as the world’s first, best and most. It is even dominate not by one but by two major companies in both mobile device and TV categories, contending for supremacy in the flexible (plastic) device area as well.

But the periods that Samsung Display and LG Display have commercialized the OLED panel are completely different. Samsung Display is leading the small AMOLED panel produced on a glass substrate. LG Display took part in the initial stage but closed the business before long. Since then, Samsung Display is running alone, eagerly seeking a partner to compete in good faith for the development of OLED business.

The situation is reversed in the OLED TV. Taking a lesson from the failure in the AMOLED for mobile business and with adamant determination, LG Display succeeded in commercializing a large OLED panel available for the UHD TV using the oxide TFT, WRGB OLED, and hybrid encapsulation technologies that no one had thought of before. On the other hand, Samsung Display, the first of OLED, ceased mass-producing a large OLED panel and went into a long hibernation. Now LG Display is running a long marathon course on its own. The lonely sole lead in the TV market which is a flower of display industry is expected to continue for few years.

At CES2015, LG Electronics organized the booth focused on the curved UHD OLED TV, G Flex2, and G Watch employing OLED panels and to promote the excellence of OLED TV, it also prepared a section to compare the picture quality and viewing angle with LCD TV.

Samsung Electronics planned its booth concentrating on the SUHD TV which is the QD-BLU LCD TV, but there was a picture quality comparison section to judge against existing LCD, OLED, and PDP TV.

Samsung Electronics, which once promoted OLED as the best picture quality, now turned its back on OLED TV and began to exploit it in order to highlight the SUHD TV as a desperate measure. The OLED TV and PDP TV at the exhibition presented poor picture qualities compared to the SUHD TV without a doubt. However, the OLED TV which was used for comparison is said to be a product of Samsung and thus, it ironically demonstrated that Samsung Display’s manufacturing technique for a large OLED panel is inferior to that of LG Display, expecting to have a negative impact on the future OLED business of Samsung Display. Because it was obvious in the LG Electronics booth that anyone who saw the OLED TV in there was able to realize a superb picture quality of LG’s OLED panel for TV.

The view on LG’s OLED has clearly distinct at the LG Display press conference held on the eve of CES2015 opening. The platform was checkered with LG Display’s logo and the word OLED, presenting a strong will that LG Display will take a full responsibility of OLED.

The biggest accomplishment of CES2015 is that it was an opportunity to confirm the possibility of the sustained growth of Korean display industry as the industrial infrastructures are established to produce from a small panel for mobile device to a large area OLED panel even if LG Display and Samsung Display pursue different areas in the OLED panel industry.

[CES2015] Panasonic and Skyworth to actively participate in OLED TV business

2015年 1月 9日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: セット /作成者: OLEDNET

Han Sang-beom, the CEO of LG Display said at CES 2015 press conference that the OLED TV market for this year is expected to be about 600 thousand units, declaring to m ake 2015 the first year for WRGB OLED TV. LG Display plans to produce 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch UHD Curved OLED panels as deploying 14,000 Gen-8 substrates per month at both the M1 line and M2 line by the first half year, and will expand to 26,000 sheets per month by the end of the year.

Though LG Electronics purchases about 90% of the OLED panels produced by LG Display, the participation of the set companies of Japan and China are desperate in order to form a market in a country with a large purchasing power including Japan and China. In China, Skyworth is very active in the sales of the OLED TV. In this event, Skyworth exhibited the 65-inch and 55-inch curved UHD OLED TV. Mr. Mars Yang, the marketing manager of Skyworth, suggested that while only two models of FHD OLED TV were launched in 2014, total four models including 55-in curved UHD OLED TV will be released in 2015 for the Chinese market.

In Japan, Panasonic has a great interest in the OLED TV market. Exhibiting the independently developed 55-inch soluble process curved UHD OLED TV from CES 2013 to IFA 2014, Panasonic places a very high value in OLED TV. Panasonic is currently developing a TV set from 2014 as purchasing OLED from LG Display besides the OLED panel that it is working on separately, and at CES 2015, it has presented the curved OLED TV produced with the 55-inch UHD OLED panel from the LG Display. The exact date was not revealed but the personnel from Panasonic exhibition said that they are expecting to release the OLED TV soon, and the purpose of this exhibition is to demonstrate the possibility to create a beautiful screen as such with OLED TV. These two companies are establishing the TV trend with LG Electronics emphasizing the keywords of ‘UHD’ and ‘curved’.

OLED TV is getting attention at this CES 2015 as it is thinner and wider in its viewing angle compared to the QD-BLU LCD TV using BLU. In particular, the LG Display’s UHD OLED panel which was unveiled this time is capable of realizing the brightness equal to the best quality LCD TV as its peak intensity is raised up to 800nit. LG Display has been highly praised for the best display in this event as releasing the product with improved features of brightness and black.