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Where Will Character LCDs Be 1 Year from Now?

That’s easy: Character LCDs will still be in demand for new product designs by OEM engineers.

Why? I’ll give you four reasons.

1. “Dang it! They discontinued the LCD.”

“What? Is this the second time in three years our supplier has phased out the LCD we buy?”

No one wants to hear these words first thing Monday morning, but you will hear this more often when you choose newer, cutting edge technologies such as OLEDs that are prone to being discontinued. Here is an article of OLEDs being replaced by other technologies such as IPS.

Every time you’re forced to find a replacement display, engineering hours are lost to locate and test a new unit. Hey, that money could have been better spent on lunches for your employees and if you’re in Phoenix like us, covered parking. 

Character LCDs: Available yesterday, today, tomorrow, the day after and (N+1) …you get the idea. 

2. I need a low-cost LCD, because my new product is going to be very popular.

Have a product that will be such a hot item that it will out sell I-pods, cell phones, and coffee makers combined?

If your new product is going to be the next hottest techy item, then this is your display.

Character modules only run a few dollars each. Heck here is one for around $4 and that’s just for one. You can save a $1 or more if you lose the LED backlight and buy a larger quantity. 

More profit means more money for coffee. Another reason to be grateful for character LCDs.

3. Simple, Easy and Fast to program – Did I mention simple?

Unlike the old days of programming when the programmer had to address and then manually refresh each little dot and segment, times have changed. Character LCDs are quick and easy to program thanks to a built-in controller/driver. 

They use an industry standard eight-bit parallel interface (which has been around since Noah’s ark) with the bonus of several thousand pre-programmed libraries that can be located on the web for quick programming. 

This means you can have your LCD up and going in hours or minutes, maybe seconds — well, not seconds.

Did we mention simple?

4. I’m not cheap, I’m frugal.

When it comes to battery powered products, you need your current draw to be as low as possible.

Character Displays can last for several hours on ‘AA’ batteries with the LED backlight on. They can last for ten times as many hours if the backlight is off. Most character LCDs draw less than 1mA. The LED backlights can draw from 15mA to 90mA.

And like Burger King ®, you can have it your way. They come in 3.3V or 5V. 5V version is better for colder temperatures. LCDs need current to keep them warm and happy.

Ready to start a new design with this not so cutting edge, but highly popular LCD? Go to the store below to get started.

The character LCD store

Focus LCDs = LCDs made simple ®