By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 12:00 PM EST
The latest Apple-centric report to cross the news desk over at DigiTimes claims the Mac maker is amongst several display manufacturers that will soon introduce a new 17-inch standalone display.
The Taiwanese publication
cited industry sources Monday in saying "LCD vendors such as ViewSonic and Apple are set to launch 17-inch widescreen LCD monitors by year-end or the first quarter of 2007."
Those vendors expect 17-inch widescreen monitors to replace entry-level and middle-range 15-inch and 17-inch LCD monitors in the future, according to the report.
Prices for the new 17-inch widescreen displays are not expected to fetch a premium to 17-inch 4:3 aspect models due to more efficient panel cutting by makers,
DigiTimes reported.
In support of the aforementioned claim, the publication also cited sources in saying a fifth-generation substrate from HannStar can be cut into fifteen 17-inch widescreen panels or fifteen 15-inch 4:3 conventional-sized panels.
Nevertheless, any move by Apple to reintroduce a 17-inch display would seem unusual given recent history. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company hasn't marketed a standalone 17-inch display since it began to phase out the 17-inch Studio Display in first half of 2004.
Since then, Apple has focused on high-definition models, introducing 23-inch and 30-inch HD models along the way. Its current Cinema Display line is comprised of a 20-inch model and two HD models, a 23 and 30-inch.
The last time Apple
introduced new displays was in june of 2004, when it unveiled the 20-, 23- and 30-inch models in an aluminum design to match its professional desktop line of computers. The company reduced the cost of the displays several times (
1,
2,
3) the following year but has since made no significant announcements related to display technology.