Casio Blanview LCD transmissive panels for better outdoor viewing

Transmissive LCD panels are nothing particularly new - they basically reflect sunlight back through the panel so as to mimic the effect of a traditional backlight, and as such make the screen usable outdoors – but Casio’s latest attempt is so efficient it doesn’t require any supplementary backlighting at all.  Named Blanview LCD, the system boasts 30-percent increased transmittance and 50-percent reduction in power consumption over the previous display technology.

Blanview panels are described as fully-transmissive, whereas existing LCDs are in fact semi-transmissive.  That means the pixels are mixed between transmissive and reflective, reducing picture quality and requiring a stronger backlight for indoors use.  Blanview uses thinner wiring lines between pixels and an altered, white color filter, together with different LCD chemicals.

Starting this month, Casio will be shipping samples of numerous small-size transmissive Blanview LCDs: 2.7- and 3.5-inch vertical models (240 × 320 pixels); 3.5-, 4.1-, 5- and 5.7-inch horizontal models (320 × 240 pixels); and a 6.5-inch horizontal model (640 × 480 pixels).  Initial applications are expected to be industrial, such as portable terminals for outdoor workers.