Worries about a slowdown in Corning's big LCD business were put to rest on November 13, when the company instead raised its earnings guidance and said its display business was booming. Corning makes glass for liquid crystal display, or LCD, TVs and monitors. The bullish outlook for 2008 by the company which is one of the largest glass suppliers for LCD in the world shows the booming LCD market.

In fact, electronic manufacturers are racing to cash on the booming demand. The Korean major Samsung Electronic recently announced that its Chennai facility would manufacture flat and ultra slim TV sets in the 21-29 inch range and LCD TVs in the 19-32 inch range for the domestic and export markets. Sony Corp and Sharp Corp, two of the largest manufacturers of LCD TVs, have both opened new factories to produce the hot-selling LCD.

As the LCD market gets bigger, we bring to you some of the hottest LCD screens and also the next-gen LCD technology.

Tired of irritating smudges, dust and fingerprints on laptop computer screens? LG Philips LCD is doing something about it.

LG Philips LCD Co, the world's second-largest manufacturer of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has developed a dirt-resistant easy-to-clean panel for notebook computers.

“Our new panel employs a principle similar to that used on non-stick frying pans,” Ahn Byung-chul, who leads development of advanced technology at the company, said. “Dirt and oil can easily be wiped away.”

The South Korean company said the panel, which even facilitates the removal of ink, would go into production in the first half of 2008.

LG Philips said that the technology be first applied to its 15.4-inch widescreen panels for notebook computers and later for notebook panels of all sizes by the end of next year.

Samsung Electronics recently launched its giant LCD TV that boasts 70-inch screen in India.

The ultra-large TV is targeted at the ultra-high-end consumers. It features high-definition picture with full HD 1080p super LCD panel, Wide Colour Enhancer and LED Smartlighting technology. In addition, the TV intuitively senses the TV signal and adjusts the brightness level by turning on and off the right combination of the backlight units.

The new TV employs a light-emitting diode (LED) backlight instead of the conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) version. At the same time, power consumption is lowered by as much as fifty per cent. Samsung's display has a resolution of 1,920 pixels by 1,080 pixels.

Also, the LED scanning eliminates flicker and ghosting problems that are typically associated with large-screen LCD TVs.

The LCD features ACAP, three HDMI 1.3 port and a USB 2.0 port. Sporting a high-gloss Piano Black Bezel and Titanium Chrome trim, it features dual hidden speakers and a rear woofer. Samsung's 70-inch LCD TV carries the price tag of Rs. 24 lakhs.

Not to be left behind Samsung's Japanese rival, Sony Corp introduced a new line-up of flat-screen televisions including the 70-inch Sony Bravia KDL-70XBR3.

The new models will have xv color technology that can eliminate fuzziness during fast-motion scenes. The 70-inch KDL-70X3500 also consists of a feature called Triluminos LED backlighting system. By using arrays of red, green and blue LEDs to illuminate the screen rather than the conventional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL), the range of colours this model can display is boosted.

Sony expects the retail prices to range from 270,000 yen (2,360 dollars) for the cheapest 40-inch model to four million yen (35,000 dollars) for the top-end 70-inch set.

Hitachi has launched a new line of LCD TV sets that are thinner than any of their predecessors.

Dubbed the Ultra Thin series, the “Wooo UT” series of TVs measure 3.5 centimeters thick. The electronics maker claims the slimmest sets in the market today have screens at 8.1 cm thick.

Available in black, red, white and blue, the UT series of LCD TVs consists of mainly two components. There's the monitor which measures just 35mm thick, then the separate media station which houses the TV tuner, connectors and S-iVDR slot. The S-iVDR slot allows recording of TV programmes on SD/MMC cards. The media station can be connected to the monitor via HDMI or an optional wireless transmitter.

According to the company, it was able to achieve such a slim model by detaching the tuner from the actual body of the TV. The first TV to use the new screen will be the Wooo UT 32-inch set, set for release in Japan in the coming months.

The model is expected to retail for around $2,000. Two other models, a 37-inch and a 42-inch, will be available next year for approximately the equivalent of $2,870 and $3,750, respectively.

Japan's Sharp Corp unveiled a prototype of what it called the world's thinnest LCD TV with a main display section only 20 mm thick.

“The 25 kg TV is designed with digitalisation and Web-based TV in mind as consumers look for high-definition models that can be mounted on walls”, Sharp president Mikio Katayama said.

He said “the 50-inch TV would consume 140 kilowatts of power per year, based on a typical household's viewing pattern, compared with consumption of 233 kWh by Sharp's current LC-37 P55E 37-inch set.”

In October, the company had also announced developing what it claims is the world's thinnest LCD screen, measuring in at less than 0.68 millimeters thick.

The new panel is designed for use in mobile phones, with a total size of 2.2 inches. With a thickness of only 0.68 mm, Sharp says it is the industry's slimmest mobile LCD screen to date.

Based on the company's proprietary fabrication techniques, the LCD panel has a 2000:1 contrast ratio, a 176 degree viewing angle, and a response speed of eight milliseconds.

The new screen surpasses Samsung's old record, which was an LCD screen 0.7 mm thick. The standard for most mobile devices is around 0.82 mm.