Balance of power

Next-generation mobile phones promise text, pictures and video, but how will
the batteries cope? Scientists at Sharp’s labs in Oxford have developed a
power-saving screen that checks the format of each frame as it is displayed. If
the information is plain text, the screen switches to low-power black and white,
but for video clips it goes into a high-power, full-colour battery-eating mode.
The interface also optimises the power needed if different formats are displayed
together, such as text over a still picture, says Sharp researcher Graham Cairns.