Hitachi's 4.5-inch IPS display has 1280 x 720 res, 1,100:1 contrast, plans for mass production in October

Yo, Apple, you know that Retina Display you're so proud of? Old news. Hitachi Displays has just announced a 4.5-inch IPS LCD panel that fits 1280 x 720 pixels within its frame, accounting for an eye-watering 329dpi density. That's higher than you can get on the iPhone 4, but the fun doesn't stop there. Hitachi's new goodness also promises an 1,100:1 contrast ratio and 500 nits of brightness coming from an LED backlight. This precious new slice of technology is predictably all geared to land in your future smartphone of choice and we're told mass production is set to begin in October of this year. That basically means CES 2012 is going to be filthy with handsets offering full 720p resolution -- we can't wait.