AMOLED displays are in short supply

BEANCOUNTERS at Isuppli claim that short supplies of small-sized AMOLED displays are slowing the display technology's bid to challenge the dominance of the incumbent AMLCD technology.

AMOLED technology is popular in Android smartphones, but Isuppli claims that supplies of small-sized AMOLEDs are constrained.

The technology is expected to reach 184.5 million units by 2014, up from 20.4 million units in 2009.

While such growth is impressive, the AMOLED shipments pale next to those of small-sized AMLCDs, which are forecasted to rise to 1.75 billion units by 2014 from 1.3 billion in 2009, Isuppli said.

Starting with the Nexus One introduced in January, Android-based smartphones have aggressively adopted high-quality AMOLED displays as a competitive differentiator against the advanced technology AMLCD screen used in Apple's Iphone.

Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst for small and medium displays at Isuppli said that the rising demand, combined with a limited supply base, has led to the constrained availability of AMOLEDs.

AMOLEDs don't use backlights, so they offer potential power-savings benefits compared to AMLCDs. They are also much thinner and offer superior performance with better fast motion display and a richer color gamut compared to AMOLEDs, according to Isuppli.

Samsung and LG are presently the only sources for AMOLED panels. Samsung will be investing $2.2 billion in its AMOLED facility by 2012 to ramp up production, while shipment volumes will be limited at LG as the company has yet to increase production.

However AU Optronics and TPO Display are planning to introduce AMOLED products at the end of 2010 or early in 2011.

"Given the small pool of available AMOLED suppliers, manufacturers of volume applications such as mobile handsets understandably are concerned about the potential for disruptions in production if a part or component becomes delayed or [its production] ceases entirely," Isuppli said. µ