Posted on Tuesday, November 15 2011 @ 21:44 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Qualcomm keeps running into trouble with its Mirasol display technology. Originally the screens were anticipated
to be ready in 2010, but now it looks like the first consumer products with Mirasol technology won't arrive until the second half of 2012.
Technology Review has an update on the display tech, and it seems modifications were needed to make manufacturing commercially viable. Those modifications appear to be complete, because a facility is being constructed in Taiwan to handle mass production. Qualcomm is set to pour close to $1 billion into the factory, suggesting Mirasol still has a future, even if it's been delayed.
Initially, there was some concern about Mirasol being capable of delivering a high enough refresh rate for video playback. The 5.7" prototype seen by Technology Review is capable of updating the screen at 30 FPS, though. Under bright light, the colors are reportedly rich and "not unlike the pages of a magazine," which sounds very promising indeed.
