Monochrome Smartphone, Any Takers?

[Kris Kumar]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000960032587/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000960032587/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"We know it’s hard to remember all the way back to 2002, but there was actually a time when you couldn’t actually buy a cellphone with a color screen. Now it’s getting hard to find a handset without one, at least according to iSuppli, which says that last year just over two-thirds of all cellphones shipped had color displays, and that by 2008 only 4% of phones will rock the monochrome."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-Feb2005-SPMono.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Nowadays 64K and 260K color screens are common. Resolution is improving. So ever wonder what it would be like to have a Smartphone with a monochrome screen or with a screen that does gray-scale? Or maybe downgrading the screen quality is not the way to go. What about holographic display? What are your thoughts? What kind of developments do you foresee for the future?

[Graffiti]

I'd like to see OLEDs getting into smartphone displays, and not a moment too soon. It's been showing up as auxillary/external cellphone displays pretty often these days. OLED's promise of lower power consumption fits a smartphone to a tee.

An interesting non-color screen option would be those snazzy electro-lumiscent displays ...

[MR_E]

Back in 2000, Compaq offered a greyscale iPaq when they couldn't manufacture enough 3630's (with colour screen) to keep up with demand. Hasn't been much of a success, as far as I can tell.
I don't think a lot of potential PDA- or Smartphone buyers are willing to accept 'yesteryear' features on their devices.

[Mike Temporale]

Ah yes, the monochrome iPAQ. One of my co-workers bought one. He didn't think it would be a big deal. Until he compared the screen to mine. :mrgreen:

[Mike Temporale]

I'd like to see OLEDs getting into smartphone displays, and not a moment too soon. It's been showing up as auxillary/external cellphone displays pretty often these days. OLED's promise of lower power consumption fits a smartphone to a tee.

I'm interested to see what becomes of the OLED's. They have a lot of potential. If they could only get off the design table and into an actual device.