Toshiba unveils new 720p mobile display, Retina beware

Toshiba just brought their latest tech to SID 2011 display exhibit and entered the competitive world of mobile screen pixel density. Two screens geared towards mobile devices peaked particular interest.

Firstly a smaller 3.3-inch LCD that packs a pretty impressive 480x864 resolution and a 300ppi density. Not bad, but its big brother really turned heads. Toshiba showed off a 4-inch HD LCD. It spans 720x1280 and has a monster pixel density of 367ppi. Now compare that to the Retina Display's 326ppi and it clearly takes the cake. The 4" LCD also promises a contrast radio of 1500:1, which is nearly double that of the iPhone 4's display.

It has to be said that a direct comparison between these new LTPS displays is a little unfair. Assuming it makes it onto a production handset, it's likely to take the crown for the highest pixel density/best contrast ratio combo on a cell phone.

Sure, there are better screens out there. Look at the HAST LCDs, they offered FullHD 1080p resolution on a small scale but we've never really seen them materialize outside of a proof of concept and in truth, at what point does pixel density become meaningless. The human eye is a phenomenal thing, but it's only so good at what it does.

There's no talk of when these might become available to buy or which phones will get first dibs on them so we're stuck with our Retina Displays for the meantime, what a shame…

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