Having More Colors is a Good Thing, Isn't It?

[Kris Kumar]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2005/09/07/462187.aspx' target='_blank'>http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2005/09/07/462187.aspx</a><br /><br /></div><i>"When was the last time you saw a Windows Mobile device that couldn't do color? (It's a trick question. The last grayscale device predates the name change to "Windows Mobile.") Subtle differences in screen quality aside, all WM devices have had the same ability to show colors--65536 of them. Modern LCD screens, however, are capable of showing four times that many (262144). So I've been asked, "Why doesn't WM allow OEMs to make use of these better screens?" The short answer is: "We do." The medium answer is: "But don't be so sure you want them to." And the long answer is ... well the rest of this entry."</i><br /><br />Many a times we have noticed the manufacturers advertising the LCD on their Smartphones as 256K colors, but Windows Mobile would render only 65K colors. And we have always wondered why doesn't the Smartphone make full use of the LCD's color capability. Mike Calligaro's post on the Windows Mobile Team Blog provides the reasoning in an easy to understand format. :-)

[Jerry Raia]

Good explanation. :)

[Mark Larson]

Great stuff. Now i have ammo against those who disparage the Smartphone's color-display ability. He's right - we should wait until we get millions of colors before we do the unnecessary processing. Processors will be faster and memory will be cheaper by then too. :)

[badbob001]

Great stuff. Now i have ammo against those who disparage the Smartphone's color-display ability. He's right - we should wait until we get millions of colors before we do the unnecessary processing. Processors will be faster and memory will be cheaper by then too. :)

The $250 Sony PSP has a 24bit display. It's not going to take an evolution of processing power or a leap in economies of scale to get a 24bit display now.

[Mike Temporale]

Wow, That was a great read and it explained so much so well. Thanks!

The $250 Sony PSP has a 24bit display. It's not going to take an evolution of processing power or a leap in economies of scale to get a 24bit display now.

Well, I don't really have an answer for this, but my thoughts are that the PSP is a different type of device and most likely it has a extra nice graphics accelerator chip in there that most portable devices find too costly - in terms of battery power and size. The PSP is huge in comparison to a Smartphone (especially a C500/SMT5600 device)

[Kris Kumar]

The $250 Sony PSP has a 24bit display. It's not going to take an evolution of processing power or a leap in economies of scale to get a 24bit display now.

I don't know much about the PSP. Has Sony subsidized the price of the unit just like what Microsoft has done for its Xbox?