Low-temperature polysilicon LCD in Italian eBook

IPM-NET has chosen Toshiba's 20cm low-temperature polysilicon LCD technology to deliver low-power high-resolution display functionality in a new electronic book to be launched this summer.

IPM-NET, the Internet appliance specialist arm of Italy's IPM Group, has chosen Toshiba's 20cm (7.7in) low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) LCD technology to deliver high-resolution, low-power display functionality in a new electronic book to be launched this summer.

Billed as the first Italian eBook, IPM-NET's "MyFriend" allows users to download books, manuals, magazines and other electronic texts from a host PC or directly from the Internet via its own internal modem.

The device is based on the Windows CE operating system and features the Microsoft Reader eBook reading software, and has been developed as a direct result of IPM-NET's strategic partnership with Microsoft and Bsquare Corporation who specialise in software solutions for development and deployment of intelligent computing devices.

MyFriend's high-resolution touchscreen display is provided by Toshiba's LTM07C388 20cm, 640 x 960pixel TFT-LCD module.

This module is based on LTPS technology and, at 150pixel/in, offers the same image quality as digital photography.

The LTPS process also contributes to a low profile of just 6.0mm, a weight of only 175g and typical power consumption as low as 1.7W.

The Toshiba LTM07C388 has been optimised to take full advantage of Microsoft's ClearType display to ensure dramatically improved font display resolution.

As a result, MyFriend can deliver an on-screen reading experience that, for the first time, approaches the quality of reading text printed on paper.

Thanks to the low weight of the Toshiba display module, MyFriend will weigh no more than 800g.

As with all of the multimedia devices produced by IPM-NET, the new eBook will incorporate a SIM format smart card module with a protection function to safeguard authors' rights.

Future versions of MyFriend will include UMTS compatibility as standard.

Discussing the use of Toshiba's display, Mario Vitale, IPM-NET's MyFriend product manager comments: "The arrival of MyFriend this summer is set to significantly develop the 'reading on demand' market.

Fundamental to this market are high-resolution, high-brightness displays that are small and light enough for a portable device and that minimise power consumption for extended battery life.

Toshiba's 20cm LTPS display addresses all of these issues and meets Microsoft's specifications for ClearType technology".

Low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFT LCDs use a crystallised silicon structure.

This structure supports much faster electron flow in transistors than the uncrystallised silicon of mainstream amorphous silicon TFT LCDs, resulting in higher resolutions and richer colours.

LTPS TFT LCDs also offer greater design flexibility than other LCD technologies, as most LCD drivers can be integrated directly on the display panel itself rather than around it.

As a result, the space required at the periphery of the panel is minimised, the number of components in the LCD module is cut by 40%, and the number of connections between TAB drivers and electrodes on the panel is reduced by 95%.

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