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It’s a sad day for fans of Android, brushed aluminum exteriors, and retina-searing AMOLED displays. Bell’s HTC Legend seems to have come to the end of its days, the provider moving the phone to “end of life” status due to “ongoing supply constraints from the manufacturer.” Phandroid speculates this is due to AMOLED shortages slowing down HTC manufacturing, and that certainly seems like a reasonable conclusion. We also checked out some other suppliers of the phone and they too are not listing it in stock, so this could be a rather abrupt end of the road for one of the best looking, though not necessarily best performing, Android handsets.

Update: David D. wrote in to point out this Forbes article pointing out that chip shortages could also be at least partly to blame here.

[Thanks, Tati]

Bell HTC Legend prematurely put out to pasture due to AMOLED supply constraints? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d already heard that Samsung’s 7-inch Android-based tablet (apparently known as the Galaxy Tab) would be rolling out sometime in the third quarter of this year, and it looks like we now also know when it’ll be making its official debut. According to South Korea’s JoongAng Daily, an unnamed “high-ranking official” at Samsung has confirmed that the device will be officially unveiled at IFA, which kicks off September 3rd in Berlin. No more new details beyond that, unfortunately, but previous reports have suggested that the device will match its smartphone counterpart with an AMOLED display, and boast some decent specs across the board, including Android 2.2, a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor, 16GB of on-board memory, and both WiFi and 3G connectivity.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab said to be debuting at IFA next month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T came right out and confessed that it would be “the premiere carrier” for Windows Phone 7, and while it’s obviously far too early to say if that’ll be the case, this ain’t a bad way to start proving one’s point. Samsung’s Cetus (SGH-i917) was just recently confirmed to be one of the first commercial Windows Phone 7 devices last week, and now the always-disclosing FCC database has shed even more light on the phone’s intentions. Based on the mention of 850 / 1,900MHz frequency support — and that whole “SGH-i917 (ATT)” marking on the label — it’s pretty safe to assume that this 4-inch, AMOLED-packin’ superphone will soon be fighting with the iPhone 4 for shelf space. There’s obviously no indication of when Ma Bell plans on releasing this one to the wilds, but it’s typically not too far out after hitting this milestone. Giddy yet?

Samsung’s Cetus SGH-i917 sashays into FCC database, winks seductively at AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Pantech Vega that just hit Korea may boast a sizable 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, but don’t expect future phones from the Helio manufacturer to follow suit — after suffering the same shortages that drove HTC to Sony’s SLCD-illuminated doorstep, Pantech’s also temporarily giving active-matrix organic technology the boot. Now, you may not give two nickels about the technologies in Pantech’s next handset, but the firm’s got a finger on the industry’s pulse. So when an unnamed executive says “phones to be rolled out in the first half of next year” won’t use AMOLED, that hints at when the shortage for US-bound devices might also let up. In case you’re curious, 2H 2011 is when Samsung’s next AMOLED facility is slated to open, though by that point AU Optronics and TPO Display should be shipping the screens as well.

Pantech drops AMOLED completely due to shortage, may resume use in 2H 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone wants an OLED display on their cellphone, right? Ok, maybe not everybody, especially when compared to regular AMOLED, but we certainly want, no demand, a 4-plus inch Super AMOLED on our next Android smartphone. Problem is, there just aren’t enough to go around according to iSuppli. An issue compounded by the fact that Samsung, the world’s largest AMOLED panel manufacturer, gets first crack at its displays in support of its massive growth plans for 2010, leaving companies like HTC to look elsewhere as we’ve already heard. That leaves LG, the only other source for small AMOLED panels, to shoulder the burden until the two can ramp up production, or until more players can enter the market. Samsung hopes to significantly boost production in 2012 when it brings a new $2.2 billion AMOLED facility on-line. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based AU Optronics and TPO Display Corp. plan to introduce AMOLED products by the end of 2010 or early 2011. Until then there’s always the venerable LCD which will continue to dwarf AMOLED shipments for many years to come. See the numbers after the break.

Continue reading iSuppli: OLED panel shortage a concern for Android smartphone makers

iSuppli: OLED panel shortage a concern for Android smartphone makers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These five Nexus One smartphones may seem to have defects, but there’s actually nothing wrong with their AMOLED screens — the funky colors are an attempt to improve battery life by turning off unnecessary sub-pixel LEDs. Hooking up his handset to an industrial power meter, Android engineer Jeff Sharkey discovered a blood-red screen drew 42 percent less current than full color — the least of any combination by far — purportedly doubling the effective battery life of the phone. While you’re probably not going to be able to test the requisite software patch for yourself unless you’re mildly familiar with Google code, you’ll find a video of the crimson wonder after the break to fuel your dreams of a eyestrain-free astronomy cheat sheet… and Android bullfighting, of course.

Continue reading Nexus One sees red, nearly doubles battery life? (video)

Nexus One sees red, nearly doubles battery life? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung seems to have taken exception to a little sidenote made by Steve Jobs during his iPhone 4 announcement at WWDC10 this Monday. While waxing poetic on the virtues of IPS, Jobs let us know that he considers it an entirely superior display technology to OLED, and now the world’s biggest display maker has a few words to say about it. According to a Samsung spokesperson, the high-res retina display on the iPhone 4 offers only a 3 to 5 percent advantage in sharpness over its own Galaxy S Super AMOLED screen, but sucks down a wasteful 30 percent more power. Moreover, Samsung believes its screens offer better viewing angles and contrast, and concludes by saying that “structurally, IPS LCD technology cannot catch up with AM-OLED display technology.” And here we thought Samsung and Apple were getting along so well.

Samsung: iPhone 4’s retina display is nice, but it’s no AMOLED originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s new 11.7-inch OLED panel boasts better colors, longer lifespan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Being completely unable to keep a popular device in stock is a great problem to have, we suppose — but considering that Verizon Wireless’ Lowell McAdam believes he could sell “twice” the number of Droid Incredibles that he has available, that’s got to be a bit of a bummer if you’re one of the company’s bean counters (or a would-be buyer, for that matter). In a talk at a Barclays Capital conference today, McAdam made it clear that component shortages were to blame for the high-end Android handset’s general unavailability — specifically the Samsung-sourced AMOLED display, which is seeing duty in more phones all the time and will likely be in short supply for a while yet. At the present, new buyers need to wait until at least mid-June to get their Droid Incredible if they order online, and the Nexus One’s brief inventory situation is very likely related; since Samsung is using a ton of AMOLED displays in its own devices, doesn’t this all seem like a conflict of interest?

Droid Incredible confirmed to be suffering from AMOLED shortage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 16:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Being completely unable to keep a popular device in stock is a great problem to have, we suppose — but considering that Verizon Wireless’ Lowell McAdam believes he could sell “twice” the number of Droid Incredibles that he has available, that’s got to be a bit of a bummer if you’re one of the company’s bean counters (or a would-be buyer, for that matter). In a talk at a Barclays Capital conference today, McAdam made it clear that component shortages were to blame for the high-end Android handset’s general unavailability — specifically the Samsung-sourced AMOLED display, which is seeing duty in more phones all the time and will likely be in short supply for a while yet. At the present, new buyers need to wait until at least mid-June to get their Droid Incredible if they order online, and the Nexus One’s brief inventory situation is very likely related; since Samsung is using a ton of AMOLED displays in its own devices, doesn’t this all seem like a conflict of interest?

Droid Incredible confirmed to be suffering from AMOLED shortage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 16:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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