The Coming of AMOLED Displays, HD2 Reviews, Skyfire 1.5

Frankly, I’d been seeing AMOLED displays being touted as a feature on some new phones but wasn’t sure what that was. This week we’ll take a brief look at that, as well as note some more HD2 reviews and the release of a new version of the free Skyfire browser.

AMOLED Displays Cropping Up

We’re starting to see AMOLED displays in some of the new phones, notably AT&T’s HP iPAQ Glisten and Verizon’s Samsung Omnia II. So what is AMOLED and how is it different?

AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. These displays use organic compounds rather than the liquid crystal found in LCDs. The advantages of this new technology include sharper and more detailed images, higher contrast ratios, thinner screens, and reduced power consumption. You can read more in Wikipedia.

The difference in quality of the images is readily apparent, and a number of mobile device websites have recently posted comparisons. PocketNow has posted a video comparing the AMOLED of the Omnia Pro to a traditional LCD display. They say that the colors are truer and that you get blacker blacks.

Also interesting is a video of Omar Khan from last summer in which he explains what AMOLED is and why it’s better. Also, an Italian site has posted some photos that compare images on the AMOLED Omnia II and the forthcoming HD2, which is generating so much excitement and which as a 4.3-inch display. The Omnia images do look better. (Which is a bit of a disappointment, because I’d imagined that the HD2 was the best in every respect.)

More Reviews of the HD2

Speaking of the HD2, more reviews are appearing. This device is still much anticipated, and should be available from a major carrier in the U.S. sometime after the first of the year.

The Mobile Spoon has a very enthusiastic review about this device, which is the first to combine SVGA with a capacitive screen. The reviewer says that it’s the best Windows Mobile device he’s ever seen. Less enthusiastic is the review on Gizmodo, which calls the HD2 a tragedy. That’s because they love the hardware but dislike the limitations imposed by the Windows Mobile software.

Also, TechnoBuffalo has a video review of the hardware and briefly the software. And a second video offers a thorough video tour of the software, including the web browser, photo viewer, and the touch interface.

Skyfire 1.5 Browser Available

Skyfire is a powerful browser that opens up parts of the web often closed to mobile devices, including websites that use Flash and Silverlight. And it’s free.

Version 1.5 was recently released. It includes a new touch-friendly interface, support for VGA and WVGA devides, kinetic scrolling, full screen mode, and more. To get it, point your mobile browser at get.skyfire.com. You can see a video tour of Skyfire on PocketNow.