Samsung launched three OLED products today, two of which are very exciting. The first is the Galaxy Tab 7.7, which has the world's largest mass-production OLED display at 7.7" (1280x800). It's a Super AMOLED Plus display. Other include Android v3.2, Dual-core 1.4Ghz processor, HSPA+ radio, 16GB to 64GB internal storage and a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, GPS and two cameras (3MP and 2MP).

The second exciting product is the Galaxy Note, a 5.3" Super AMOLED phone, offering the same resolution as the Tab - 1280x800. Samsung is using PenTile here. They are not using the Super AMOLED HD brand we thought they'd use, istead they simply call it a HD Super AMOLED display. It seems that Samsung will use Super AMOLED for PenTile displays and Super AMOLED Plus for non-pentile display, regardless of pixel density.

Samsung's popular Galaxy S II smartphone is finally coming to the US - to AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Sprint's version (called the Epic 4G) and T-Mobile's version use a 4.52" display, and AT&T's version will use the regular 4.3" panel. Sprint will be the first to launch it - on September 16th for $200.

The Galaxy S II has a 1.2Ghz processor, Android Gingerbread, 16GB of internal storage and WiMax (Sprint) or HSPA (T-Mobile and AT&T). The display is a 4.3" (or 4.52") Super AMOLED Plus.

LG Display hired Intertek to test its AH-IPS LCD technology against Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus. LG's AH-IPS offers 720x1280 resolution at 4.5" (329ppi) - and Intertek says that it's better than Samsung's OLED - in quality and color accuracy. LG's LCD is also more power efficient (although it's not clear how they tested it - it just says that it's better because it always draws the same energy, while OLEDs consume twice as much on white screens).

Samsung Galaxy S2

I just had an interesting talk with two industry insiders (one of them is a Samsung supplier) - about Samsung's upcoming Super AMOLED HD display. It turns out that these displays are indeed real - and will be unveiled soon. We can expect 5" to 6" smartphones in fall 2011 (the first will probably be the GT-I9220 with a 5.3" display) and 7" tablets by the end of 2011.

A 7-inch Super AMOLED prototype

According to my sources, Samsung managed to achieve HD resolution on these small displays by using PenTile matrix again (like in the original Super AMOLED displays). They have also developed a new manufacturing process and are using new materials. It might be that they have finally started to use Universal Display's green PHOLED (we reported that Samsung is using a green phosphorescent in their new 5.5-Gen plant, but perhaps they will only start using it in the HD displays).

Samsung's phone roadmap was leaked - showing us 9 upcoming phones and two tablets. There are two AMOLED phones in there. The first is the GT-I9220-W43 which features a 5.3" 1280x720 Super-AMOLED-Plus display (or Super-AMOLED-HD?). This might be the Galaxy-Q phone we heard about a few weeks ago. Achieving 720p resolution on a 5.3" display requires around 270 ppi - which isn't possible with Samsung's current AMOLED technology, so we'll label this rumor 'unlikely'?

The second AMOLED phone is a Bada hone - the Wave III (S8600-W47). It will have a 4" Super AMOLED display.

There are rumors that Samsung is set to release a new Galaxy S II variant (code named Celox) with LTE. The interesting bit is that it is said that this phone will sport Samsung's new Super AMOLED HD display rather than the Super AMOLED Plus used in regular S II phones - and that Super AMOLED HD will use PenTile matrix again.

Galaxy S II

So if Samsung goes back to PenTile, this might explain the resolution increase, although it will still be unrealistic to expect an HD (1280x800) resolution on a 4" display - even with PenTile, as Samsung will not be able to move beyond 200ppi using their current FMM technology. In any case, it seems rather unlikely for Samsung to go back to this technology after telling us that normal matrix is better in Super AMOLED Plus displays...

There are reports that Samsung plans to introduce new 7" AMOLED displays later this year. According to these reports Samsung's new AMOLED displays will feature 1024x768 - and be used by Samsung Electronics in new Tablets, released towards the end of 2011.

A 7-inch Super AMOLED prototype

But in the same article they say that Samsung aims to introduce Full-HD tablets as well. Perhaps the new 7" panels will offer 720P HD resolution (1280×720)? This makes sense as the pixel density for such a display is about 180ppi - which is achievable in Super AMOLED Plus displays. In fact this may be the Super AMOLED HD display we keep hearing about lately...

Samsung announced that they sold 5 million Galaxy S II phones - in just 85 days (on July 22nd). That's a lot faster than the Galaxy S - which took 125 days to sell 5 million. The Galaxy S took 7 months to reach 10 million units - and Samsung says that the S II is expected to reach that amount sooner too. The S II isn't selling in the US yet...

The SII sold 3 million units in 55 days - they sold 2 million in just 30 days - so sales are actually accelerating as Samsung introduces the phone into more and more markets. In this rate the will cross the 10 million mark soon, beating Samsung's own original expectations.

Samsung Electronics says that they expects to start selling the Galaxy S II in the US in August. The S II is Samsung's quickest selling phone - selling 3 million units just 55 days after its release.

Samsung's Galaxy S2 is the successor to the popular Galaxy S. It has a 4.3" WVGA Super AMOLED plus display, 1.2Ghz dual-core processor, NFC, Bluetooth 3 and HSPA+. It's only 8.49mm thick at its thinnest point.

There are reports that Samsung is working on a new device called the Galaxy Q that will bridge the gap between the smartphone and the small tablet. It will have a Super AMOLED Plus 5.3" display. The Q will come in two versions: 3G and LTE, and will launch in September during the IFA 2011 exhibition in Germany.

A 7-inch Super AMOLED prototype

Achieving an HD (720p) display on a 5.3" screen requires around 270 ppi - which means that Samsung will not be able to offer that resolution using their current technology (which limits AMOLEDs to around 200 ppi). So this is probably not the rumored Super AMOLED HD display.