The answer to both might lie in LED backlighting, a new technique for LCD illumination just hitting the shelves, and one that DigiTimes says Apple (as well as HP) has staged for development. LED backlights are both brighter and thinner than the fluorescent systems used by most laptops currently. In addition, it uses less power to maintain brightness, another positive factor for the technology. On top of everything else, the colors are also brighter and clearer, looking at an LED-backlit display looks almost sci-fi.

We’re not sure if we’ll see this in Apple’s notebooks next week, but we’re fairly certain it will make its debut sometime this year, and it’s a welcome upgrade to be sure. We also fully expect to see the technology used in iMacs and displays later on.

Apple and HP to launch LED-based notebooks, Taiwan LED makers unlikely to benefit much, say sources [DigiTimes]