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Asus U1F Ultraportable
Asus hops on board with LED backlighting

Asus has high hopes for LED backlighting on notebooks. The company expects for the technology to really take off in 2008 and capture as much as 10% of the notebook backlighting market according to DigiTimes.

LED backlighting allows thinner, brighter screens, sharper colors and reduced power requirements on notebooks. Average power consumption is reduced by 1-2 watts when compared to traditional cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). The reduction in power requirement could add up to 45 minutes of battery time according to Tony Chen of Asus' notebook division.

Asus is getting the ball rolling with the LED-based U1F ultraportable. This 11.1" WXGA+ (1,360x768) notebook uses a mix of high-grade plastic, steel accents and genuine leather to give it a professional appearance. The Vista-based notebook is equipped with an ULV Core Duo processor and weighs in at a low 2.2 pounds.

Asus will first unveil the new notebook at this year's CeBIT expo in March.

Sony has been using LED-backlighting for quite some time on its smaller VAIO notebooks. The company’s VAIO TX2 and TX3 notebooks both feature 11.1” LED-backlit displays.

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problem
By goku on 2/1/2007 8:23:20 AM , Rating: 2
One problem I see though is that if just one of the bulbs burns out, what are you going to do? Are these LED bulbs easier to replace? It would seem like this could be another 'dead pixel' fiasco where the companies will refuse to replace a display because it 'only has one dead bulb' and make up some bullshit about it being part of the manufacturing process. If a whole cathode bulb burns out on the other hand, seems like its something easier to argue for replacement of. I just hope these are as easy or easier to replace than the current cathodes they use in laptop displays.




RE: problem
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 2/1/2007 8:32:17 AM , Rating: 5
Well, just to start LEDs don't have "bulbs," just diodes. The mean-time between failures (MTBF) on LED diodes is often in excess of 50K hours.

My guess is that the LEDs are a non-trival task to replace, but on the other hand they really don't burn out in the lifespan of the product.


RE: problem
By darkpaw on 2/1/2007 8:44:41 AM , Rating: 2
The backlight is near impossible to replace too, so there really is no difference there. Backlights are very specific to the display panel and are not really a user serviceable part. For some models you can buy just the back light, but I'd say this is more likely the exception then the rule. In almost all cases, the whole panel is replaced.

Sounds like the OP might be worried about uneven lighting if some of the LEDs go. That problem can exist on traditional displays as well since many of them are composed of more then one physical back light. If anything, I think the LEDs will be more reliable then what is currently used.


RE: problem
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 2/1/2007 8:56:55 AM , Rating: 3
Very good point, though I would add that one of the largest problems of the Sony LED-backlit notebook is that the housing is very weak. Several people I know have put a book on the notebook and actually managed to crack the substrate holding the LEDs in place.

When I vistited Asus R&D about 6 months ago this was a specific issue they pointed out -- so let's hope it's something they've addressed!


RE: problem
By semo on 2/1/2007 9:42:51 AM , Rating: 2
ouch! damaging a sony product with such new tech must have hurt the pocket. i'm guessing this happened because the led back lit screens are so thin or was it just poor craftsmanship.

anyway, yes leds last very long. has anyone ever had a case where the power button led on a tv, dvd player, speakers, etc has burned out. those aren't too powerful but still gives an idea. i have a led torch/flashlight/glowy stick that has no practical way of replacing the leds (unlike most non-led versions), which tells me that the manufacturer expects the leds to last the life of the device.


RE: problem
By aos007 on 2/1/2007 2:08:06 PM , Rating: 2
I'm electrical engineer and I've been fiddling with LEDs at home for a few decades. Granted, total number of LEDs I've seen is probably only a few hundred, but I've NEVER had one die on me, unless it was abused (pins bented, overheated during soldering or being fed too much voltage).


RE: problem
By sxr7171 on 2/1/2007 11:25:13 PM , Rating: 2
That's why they have Thinkpad X60s models with the ultralight LED backlight display. Thinkpads are not designed to crack like Vaios (typical poorly designed Sony product). Solid magnesium alloy casing and display covers are standard on all X-series Thinkpads. Sorry to sound like a fanboy but the abuse my Thinkpad has taken over the years and come out of in near perfect condition warrants it.


RE: problem
By DarkPrime on 2/1/2007 10:08:29 AM , Rating: 2
If the MTBF is over 50K hours, that's roughly 5.7 years. I don't know about you, but I intend to "upgrade" my laptop every few years, not 5+.


RE: problem
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 2/1/2007 11:17:13 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
If the MTBF is over 50K hours, that's roughly 5.7 years.

5.7 years of use


RE: problem
By misuspita on 2/1/2007 12:27:01 PM , Rating: 2
5.7 years if you are gonna keep it working 24/7. But no laptop I've had was not subjected to that treatment. I tend to sleep every now and then so the lifespan of the thing woud be closer to 10 or more years. I don't really think the burning of the backlighting would be the real problem


RE: problem
By Zoomer on 2/3/2007 1:04:09 PM , Rating: 2
Even if you do keep it on, power save features will dim or black out the screen.


RE: problem
By jvup on 2/1/07, Rating: 0
RE: problem
By HammerZ on 2/1/2007 4:06:00 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think you can jump to that conclusion w/o knowing the distribution and standard deviation. Base on experience, I have rarely seen failures to be a linear function as you describe. I hope someone w/ more statistical experience can clarify this...


LED uniformity
By rockyct on 2/1/2007 10:17:54 AM , Rating: 2
Mass produced LEDs can vary colors slightly. Hopefully they have good quality control to get a uniform color. It would be very annoying to have a light blue patch in a white screen.




RE: LED uniformity
By goz314 on 2/1/2007 1:23:49 PM , Rating: 2
Is it a sequential RGB LED backlight or is it a "white" LED backlight? The former won't be subject to as much chromaticity variation or color non-uniformity as the latter.

At any rate, you are correct. White LEDs vary in their nominal chromaticity quite a bit from part to part and those variations can be apparent as either a slightly blue or pink haze in LED backlights. Binning usually keeps this variation for a given product down to a minimum, but it can be a real problem for the display and LED manufacturer to contend with.


RE: LED uniformity
By sprockkets on 2/1/2007 3:10:49 PM , Rating: 2
should be a rgb backlight to make it nice and white


RE: LED uniformity
By Phynaz on 2/1/2007 2:52:20 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Mass produced LEDs can vary colors slightly. Hopefully they have good quality control to get a uniform color. It would be very annoying to have a light blue patch in a white screen.


Should be:
"Mass produced hobbyist grade LEDs can vary colors slightly."

Industrial grade (read: expensive) are dead on.


how long?
By acejj26 on 2/1/2007 12:36:20 PM , Rating: 1
1-2 less watts consumed translates into 45 minutes of extra battery life????? one of those figures surely isn't right




RE: how long?
By semo on 2/1/2007 3:20:14 PM , Rating: 2
from my experience of pr, it is usually the case that this a best case scenario. that would probably mean that they have looked at a thin n light notebook with an 11" display (perhaps with brightness turned down) that does not consume much power in which case, 1-2 watts would be significant.

and that's why they use "up to" in their statement.


RE: how long?
By rykerabel on 2/1/2007 5:09:50 PM , Rating: 2
Example:

Core Duo processors as stated in the review uses 15 W at maximum load, or normal usage as low as 1-2 W.

Solid State (Flash) drives use less than 1 W.

So yes, 45 min extra time is extremely obtainable.


RE: how long?
By semo on 2/1/2007 6:36:29 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
So yes, 45 min extra time is extremely obtainable.
assuming we are talking about low power device, like a thin n lite laptop. you probably wouldn't notice any extra time in a 17" xps or alienware laptop.


mac laptops with led backlamps, next-gen?
By arswihart on 2/1/2007 9:21:23 AM , Rating: 2