Apple

While sources at AUO recently indicated that it is the supplier for Apple’s 13.3-inch MacBook Air LED-backlit widescreen panel, rival Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) commented that the company already began volume producing 13.3-inch LED panels last October. Sources at AUO recently indicated that the company is supplying LED-backlit panels for Apple’s latest 13.3-inch slim notebook.

AUO also ships 13.3-inch notebook panels with cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlighting technology and a resolution of WXGA (1280 800). CMO’s 13.3-inch LED backlit panel, which has a thickness of only 2.5mm and weighs only 163g, employs the company’s Double-sided COG+WOA driver IC technology and a 0.4mm ultra-thin light guide plate (LGP) backlight module, said CMO. The company demonstrated the product at FPD International 2007 in Yokohama, Japan.

According to a Chinese-language Apple Daily report in late October, CMO confirmed that it received orders from international makers for its 13.3-inch notebook panel. CMO also recently commented that the problem of LED-based notebooks is not LED products or the sale of notebooks. The major problem is the LED backlighting unit (BLU). The yield rate for LED backlighting currently is still too low, which is a bottleneck for industry players.

As more brand notebook makers are developing LED-based products, AUO and CMO are both highlighting LED-based panels this year. AUO aims to grow its LED-based notebook panel shipment proportion to over 20% by the end of 2008, compared to only 3% currently. CMO estimated that around 15% of its notebook panel shipments will be based on LED backlighting technology.