Collapsible LCD Screens

Schart writes "I can't seem to find any pictures of exactly what they mean by 'collapsible LCD,' but NEC today announced a new line of low(ish) priced LCD screens that 'fold up for easy portability.'" Anyone out there who can supply visual documentation?

Comments

about time...

[LBArrettAnderson]

this is exactly what the world's been looking for.... we want smaller devices BUT larger displays. this'll be great.

Oh come now...

[Trespass]

Folding LCD + NLX case = portable gaming computer for LAN parties, RV'ing, etc.

Confused

[Davak]

Okay... if I want a portable screen, I'll buy a laptop.

Sure the screens come in 17 inches... but come on, I don't know why portable screens would be so helpful.

Somebody give me some actual uses... I just can't think of any that a laptop wouldn't do just as well.

The only thing I can think of would be nice to display a powerpoint presentation from my PDA -- however, a laptop would still do better.

Anyway, I think it's cool. Just give me some reasons.

Davak

expandable PDA display

[SuperKendall]

What I want is a PDA with the form factor of a palm, that I can attach a portable screen for more real estate - like if I want to look at a manual or book with diagrams.

The killer app for ebooks and PDA's could well be reference material.

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[account_deleted]

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Shame about the center

[Kris_J]

The center is so important in games -- it's where my Diablo II character always is. I'd prefer two half-sized peices either side than a fold in the middle

Re:Shame about the center

[KFury]

"what?? two half-sized peices on either side?? Isn't that the same thing as a fold in the middle?"

No. He means there is a half-size piece in the center, and two quarter-sized pieces on each side, that can fold in to cover the half-size. His nomenclature assumes that the center piece is equivalent to a 'full sized' display, and the two 'wings' are half-sized, and on either side.

Hmmm

[sbszine]

Forgive my scepticism, but looking at the picture this seems awfully similar to two adjacent screens.

Some ideas:

[lpret]

How about pulling a PDA sized device out of your pocket, and then unfolding it to the size of a laptop? It'd only need to be as big as you need it.

How about a clam-shell device that would open up to a full-screen? Double the size.

Or, since it's flexible, why not just have it on your sleeve? You could look down at your sleeve and see what your schedule is for the day (kinda sci-fi, but possible).

Or, in a larger scale, a complete mockup of some new device for demoing.

Or, potentially you could have a book-like device that would allow an old school feel, but be LCD and downloadable and all.

And these are all just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are a ton of applications for this elsewhere than just consumers like the military, hospitals, research etc.

Uses

[m1a1]

A lot of people seem to think this kind of thing would be useless. However, as a college student who moves a lot I think it would be really nice. The most difficult part of my system to pack and move is my crt. It is heavy, large, and does not fit comfortably and safely little rice burner of a car.

An LCD would be a step up, but they are still larger than they need to be. Every little bit of space makes my move easier and more comfortable. When you think about the fact that I move a considerable portion of my belongings at least at least somewhere in the area of 8 times a year (not counting lan games) a monitor that is very portable makes sense.

Small cases are gaining popularity, portable monitors seem like a logical next step.

You TOTALLY missed the point

[Tensor]

... think about it this way ...

You have a laptop with a thin, ultra portable 10x12 form factor (ie 15 inch display)... and suddenly you open (unfold) the screen upwards or sideways (maybe both ? like landscape/portrait modes) and end up with a 23.5 inch Screen in a ultra-portable !!

i'd say its sweet ...

Obviously if you think about it from the desktop point of view its pretty useless, unless you travel with your desktop a lot, like to lan-parties, but that would make it an extremely small market to recoup the r&d.

I Used to Support the Hardware

[Greyfox]

Our team could rip apart most of the Thinkpads, but if something went wrong with one of those butterfly ones, your only recourse was to send it in for service. I seem to recall that you needed a special set of tools to tear one down, just in case you were ever tempted to. That's not the real reason they stopped making them though.

The problem was, the keyboards would inevitably wear out when the machines were given to managers. Apparently the action of them folding out was even more mesmerizing than those kinetic managerial trip toys. Productivity plummeted due to all the managers just opening and closing their laptops all day long. IBM could have solved the technical problems with the keyboard with time, but there's nothing you can do about the manager-mesmerising potential.