Toshiba Flaunts A 498 ppi Density LCD For Mobiles.

Toshiba Mobile Display's President, Masahiko Fukakushi has announced an LCD panel that features pixel dimensions of 2560x1600. This even beats the Full HD resolution format, which has 1920x1080 pixels. The 6.1" screen packs in a pixel density of 498 ppi (pixels per inch), a whopping 50% increase over Apple's Retina display.

According to the company, this LCD panel is a result of special processing techniques for forming high-performance Low-Temperature Poly-Silicon (LTPS) Thin-Film Transistors (TFT) on glass substrates, and other fabrication techniques that have been cultivated over the years. In short, this screen is currently one of its kind. It has a contrast ratio of 1000:1, can display 16.7 million colours, and offers a 176-degree viewing angle, both horizontally and vertically.

Toshiba will showcase this LCD next week at the FPD International 2011 exhibition in Yokohama, Japan. Needless to say, number-crunching fandroids will love to have this screen in their mobiles.

Amazon Unveils Kindle Fire Tablet

Amazon.com has launched its long awaited Kindle Fire tablet at event held in Manhattan, New York. The device features a 7-inch multi-touch LCD display (based on Gorilla Glass technology for extra protection), 8GB of storage, built in Wi-Fi connectivity, a 1GHz dual-core Texas Instruments' OMAP (Open Multimedia Application Processor), and weighs in at around 413 grams. The Amazon Kindle Fire tablet will also feature the Amazon Silk - a "cloud-accelerated" web browser that will reportedly make browsing faster.

The tablet, which runs on Google's Android OS, will cost $199 (~Rs. 9734), almost $300 cheaper than Apple's cheapest iPad, which starts at $499 (~Rs. 24,408) - However the Amazon Fire tablet doesn't feature 3G connectivity, and an in-built microphone and camera are also absent. The Kindle Fire tablet will ship from November15 onwards and is currently available for pre-order from their site (US only).

While it has been claimed that the Kindle Fire will pose a competitive threat to Apple's iPad, it might be more likely that it will compete with other Android devices such as those from Samsung, Motorola, RIM, and other tablet manufacturers. The Kindle Fire will have a distinct advantage over the other Android tablets , given that Amazon - the world's largest online retailer - unlike most other Android tablet makers, is a content and e-commerce enabler. In other words, with Amazon's ability to provide integrated access to content on it's site such as it's collection of 100,000 movies and TV shows, 17 million songs, apps, millions of books and full-color magazines, other manufacturers will find it very hard to compete with Amazon on services, entertainment and cloud offerings.

In addition to the Kindle Fire, Amazon also launched three new Kindle models - the Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G and Kindle e-reader that retail for $99 (~Rs. 4843), $149 (~Rs. 7289) and $79 (~Rs. 3864) respectively.

Arrows Z ISW11 Surfaces In Japan.

Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications has unveiled a waterproof Android, the Arrows Z ISW11F. This device runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The smartphone is waterproof to IPX5/8 classification. In other words, it can withstand a lot of spills and splashes.

The phone is powered by a 1.2 GHz CPU and a gigabyte of RAM. It features a 4.3" screen with pixel dimensions of 1280x720. Other specs include a 13 MP rear camera capable of recording 1080p videos, 32 GB microSD card support, Wi-Fi, WiMax 4G, Bluetooth, and a 1460 mAh battery. It measures 5" (l) x 2.5 (w) x 0.4" (d) and weighs 131 grammes. According to the manufacturer, the device supports both GSM and CDMA networks.

The phone will be available in blue, white, pink, and black. It is expected to cost around 10,000 yen (Rs 6500) on contract in Japan. If it ever lands in India, it will most likely find many takers, thanks to the pink option.

Dell Launches Latitude XT3

Dell has launched a new product to add to its Latitude notebook line-up, the XT3, which can change its form factor from a normal notebook to a touch-screen tablet. This concept of notebooks with swivel screens is not new, with companies such as Toshiba, Fujitsu, and HP having launched similar devices a few years ago and which met with limited success.

The Latitude XT3 is on the lines of the E-Family of business notebooks, with a 13.3" anti-glare LED backlit touch-screen display with an ambient light sensor for better battery management. This screen is connected to the main body by a bi-directional hinge, thus allowing rotation and the switch to a tablet. A stylus is provided to be used when in the tablet mode. The keyboard is backlit, allowing users to easily use it in dark conditions such as on an airplane or in a conference hall. Business users will be happy to learn that it comes with a HD webcam and noise reducing array microphones, which in conjunction with the Dell Webcam Central software, claim to provide an excellent video conferencing experience.

Powered by an Intel Core i5-2520M (2.5 GHz) with 2 GB DDR3 memory, this notebook also packs in considerable firepower. Connectivity is through a Gigabit Ethernet port, WiMAX, and wireless broadband option. The XT3 comes with a 6-cell battery and additional 9-cell extended battery and slice options to extend the backup time. It comes with the ExpressCharge feature, which quickly charges the battery to 80% within just an hour. This is a feature, useful especially to business users, who are usually in a hurry.

With a 3-year warranty, the Dell Latitude XT3 is available at an MRP starting at Rs 1,00,000, which seems to be a stiff price to pay to get the flexibility of a tablet with the power of a laptop.