According to the NPD DisplaySearch “Quarterly Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report” (http://www.displaysearch.com), two important large-area TFT LCD trends are on the horizon: higher resolution tablet panels and the emergence of low-cost direct type LED-backlit panels.
The NPD DisplaySearch shipment forecast indicates that the average resolution of tablet displays will grow to more than 200 pixels per inch (ppi) in the second quarter of 2012. The first quarter of the year will be the first quarter that LED backlights (including edge and direct type) will account for more than half of total LCD TV panel shipments. In addition, low-cost direct type LED backlights will capture 5% of LCD TV panel shipments in the third quarter of 2012.
“The TFT LCD industry is undergoing some extraordinary changes in regards to high resolution and LED backlights for tablet computer panels,” says David Hsieh, vice president, Greater China Market, NPD DisplaySearch. “Rapid growth in multimedia usage of tablet computers is driving panel makers to upgrade the resolution of tablet panels. At the same time, the rapidly growing LCD TV market in emerging countries is encouraging panel makers to develop ‘fit spec’ products, such as low-cost direct type LED-backlit panels, which have a similar structure to traditional CCFL models, but consume less power.”
The launch of higher resolution displays in tablets, such as 10.1-inch 1920 × 1200 and 9.7-inch 2048 × 1536, expected at the end of 2011, will drive average tablet resolution to more than 200 ppi in the second quarter of 2012, he says. The average resolution of all large-area TFT LCDs will surpass 100 ppi in quarter one of 2012 and 110 ppi in quarter three.