By Stephen Schenck | July 20, 2011 8:00 PM
One thing that keeps popping up in rumored specs of upcoming smartphones is the mention of HD displays. The qHD screens we have now are nice (PenTile limitations aside), with 518K pixels, but the lowest-resolution screen that we’d consider full-on HD would be 720p’s 1280 x 720, with a mind-blowing 921K pixels that’s 77% more pixels on-screen than a qHD display. As if a screen with that kind of resolution wasn’t impressive enough, Hitachi just announced a new display it’s come up with that not only is in 720p, but offers no-glasses-required 3D viewing.
The 4.5-inch display reportedly uses in-plane switching to offer excellent color fidelity and enhanced viewing angles. Its 3D element differs from the barrier-based construction on phones like the EVO 3D, instead using a micro-array of individual lenses to direct light from specific pixels to one eye or the other. Since you’re not blocking any light in order to produce the 3D effect, you supposedly end up with a much brighter picture than you would with a barrier-based system. We’re excited about the possibilities, and even if 3D’s not your bag, a 4.5-inch 720p screen is enough to look forward to on its own.
