Double-sided LCD (Liquid Crystal Displays) is exciting technology but not particularly new. The conventional approach requires that the pictures shown on the front be replicated on the back.

Samsung, however, has announced that it's developed the world's first truly double-sided LCD that can output two completely different pictures on either side, rather than a simple reverse image as is presently the case.

How is it done, then? Conventional LCDs have one gate, which opens and closes when voltage is passed through it, and it controls the liquid crystal's position, and with a backlight shining through, the eventual colour of a particular pixel on the display.

Samsung has developed double-gate-per-pixel technology that allows for independent switching on the front and the back, via the dual gates and transistors, for completely different images; yet there's still only one backlight, with one side run via transmissive mode and the other via reflective.

The company will showcase a working QVGA-resolution model (320 x 240) at CES 2007 that is 2.6mm thick. Given the technology, we see high-end mobile phones adopting true double-sided LCDs in the near future.

Read more at Samsung. We'll have pictures later, so stay tuned.