Patented by Nokia, CBD or Clear Black Display was created mainly to increase visibility in direct sunlight. You know, that moment when you try to use your phone outside on a bright sunny day and can’t see shit? Yeah, CBD solves that issue through a pair of very thin filters that are incorporated into the display. Basically, CBD receives the light, alters it, and dispels it at the speed of light to help you see the display more clearer. The actual details are a little bit more complicated than that but you get the idea.
Other than being able to view the display outside in the sun, CBD also creates better viewing angles; which means it will be easier the next time you share all those Instagram photos with those around you. And since the display is more vibrant and richer due to the minimal amount of light being reflected, you won’t have to turn up the brightness letting you save precious battery life. CBD might not sound very exciting at first but when you dig into the science of CBD, its benefits shouldn’t go unnoticed.
I was able to test drive the Lumia 900 for this article and other than the polycarbonate casing that the Lumia 900 resides in, the only other thing that stands out on the phone is the display and use of CBD. Viewing the display outside on a bright sunny day in the middle of downtown Phoenix was a piece of cake. I was still able to view the display without any problems even if the sun was behind me, in front of me, or right on top of me. When viewing the display indoors, you get to see more color than you normally would since the amount of reflection is at its most minimum. The blacks are as black as they can get on a display, making the contrast between colors really pop out. Additionally, not once did I have to worry about changing the brightness levels to save battery life during my brief time with the Lumia 900. That includes off the charger at 6AM, light browsing, email checking, occasional Twitter/Facebook updates and playing music for at least two hours a day.
Although the Lumia 900 has CBD, it is ultimately hampered by a 800×480 resolution display and a low ppi pixel density count. With the iPhone’s Retina display and current line of Androids sporting HD 720P displays, the Lumia 900 is kind of two thousand and late. You wouldn’t really know that though unless you’re a spec whore. And you definitely wouldn’t have known it after seeing the screen in person. The only real issue is the text seen in the web browser. It looks a little flat and becomes fuzzy depending on the zoom level. The fuzziness will bother some but most people won’t even notice it.
Other quick notes about the Lumia 900 and Windows Phone 7.5 include:
- The hardware is what you come to expect of a Nokia. Superb. The texture, weight and polycarbonate casing really makes a difference.
- After spending some real quality time with Windows Phone 7.5, it’s better than I thought. I think Microsoft had iOS in mind when making their mobile OS. Its simple and works as it should. If you’ve grown tired of iOS and want something that is visually more appealing and as functional as iOS, then you might want to take a good look at the Lumia 900. Android fans might not like the Lumia 900 because of the same reasons they don’t like the iPhone, it’s simple and lacks customization. But as Android users know, the freedom of customization and a non lock down OS can occasionally lead to performance issues. This rarely happens in iOS and Windows Phone 7.5. But that’s a discussion for another time.
In the end, the Lumia 900 is a very capable smartphone. The inclusion of CBD and its benefits are actually a plus for the device, and is something to consider when comparing smartphones. As consumers that spend a lot of money on our smartphones, viewing our display no matter the conditions should be very important to us. Let’s just hope that other companies start implementing CBD into their devices.
sources: conversations.nokia.com, cnet