Samsung First Company To Commercialize Transparent LCD Panels

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Samsung has been working on transparent displays for a while now, but all we have seen so far were prototypes. Today, however, big S announced that it began mass-producing transparent LCD panels earlier this month, as the “world’s first company”. Samsung says that the panels will be available as a black-and-white and as a color type and that they boast the world’s highest transparency rates.

Here are the main specs:

  • screen size: 22 inches
  • contrast ratio: 500:1
  • resolution: 1,680×1,050 (WSXGA)
  • transparency rate: over 20% for the black-and-white type, over 15% for the color type
  • interfaces: HDMI, USB

According to Samsung, the panels need up to 90% less power when compared to ordinary LCDs with backlights because their transparent panels can use sun light.

The company plans to target advertisers, event organizers, corporations with its new product (but fails to state an exact release date).