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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?
this is exactly what the world's been looking for.... we want smaller devices BUT larger displays. this'll be great.
Now I can fold up my porn and put it my pocket!
whats the point in having a folding lcd monitor? it's not like portability is a huge factor when you still have to plug it into your computer
Excuse me while I go take a picture of an LCD falling on my head. Then you'll have one of a 'Collapsible LCD' :)
Folding LCD + NLX case = portable gaming computer for LAN parties, RV'ing, etc.
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
Several years ago (circa 1995 if my memory serves me right) IBM produced a regular-sized notebook which had a full-sized keyboard. This "butterfly" keyboard was the closest anyone has ever come to producing a desktop-type experience in a notebook package but the screen was still no better than that on any other notebook.
Now, with these foldable screens, we'll finally see ultra-ultra portable notebooks with 15in. dispays and usable keyboards in smaller packages than currently possible.
Of course, it'll be a long time until these babies are anything but top-of-the-line models but, eventually, they'll be available at the lower-end of the market too.
I can't wait to see one.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Can't find a photo of it yet, but the article says "The seam between the two panels is less than 1 mm"
http://www.etechkorea.info/articles/20020501001.ph p
Don't know if this constitutes what everyone is looking for, but you can see that there is no border in the center portion where it folds.
Well and good if you can fold the LCD monitor, but what's the use if you can't fold the the CPU!
Will sys-admin for food
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.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
yup. they ship the monitor in the standard 3x7 envelope too. pay 35 cents for shipping and handeling.
Consensus is good, but informed dictatorship is better
I was reading an article that was given a link by another poster - http://www.samsungsdi.co.kr/sdi_en/news/news_view. jsp?page=3&no=775&type=null&searchtext=nul l - and it would seem that this is intended to be more along the lines of an e-book reader, as opposed to a new pda or a new style of laptop. Personally, I see this as a great leap forward for e-books, which i have had a fair amount of interest in from their inception a few years ago. I think it would be really great if i could go back with serial numbers from all of the hard copies of books that i have and get e-book versions of them, which would allow me to take more than a half-dozen paper backs with me whenever i travel or go TDY. Can't wait to see where this tech goes from here.
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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
Forgive my scepticism, but looking at the picture this seems awfully similar to two adjacent screens.
Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling
you could take say quake3 bend the screen a bit and up the fov that way when you look to the left you see guys that are to the left of you, without so much distortion from just uping the fov on a flat screen
I like the idea. Some may think "well, it's 13lbs, that's not so portable" But you have to look at it this way. Whether you haul your system to and from LAN's every week, or even move it from location to location once a year, it's common knowledge that if you can the make the package smaller, it won't get harmed as easily. Even with current day LCD's, the worry of scratching the screen, or something else, makes people put them in a box, which takes up room, and is a general pain in the ass. If you can fold it up, especially so that the entire screen is enclosed, what the hell, put the monitor in your glove box and save room in the moving vehicle for other stuff (like that abnormally large chair that is just really comfortable and you just CAN'T compute without it)
your sins into me, oh my beautiful one.
Collapsible LCD?
:)
Nintendo had that decades ago with Donkey Kong!
1980's, Sony: "You'll never notice those two 'faint' grey lines!" 2003, NEC: "You'll never notice those three 'small' spaces between sections!"
Please help metamoderate.
Man, I really want a 3-D blackboard. Life sucks.
What if life is just a side effect of some other process and God has no idea we exist?
Origami, the age old art of paper folding will be applied to nec folding screen techlology.
A few folds... it's a bird
a few folds... it's a horse
a few folds.... it's broken!
"It's just like that 80's toy transformers, only kids can maniplulate 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.
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This is similar to the Samsung SyncMaster 172T, where the stand and monitor fold together (flat) for wall mounting, easy tote, NEC is just playing catch up, etc.
Doesn't mean the screen folds in half...sorry.
From Toms...
NEC today announced its first line of light-weight LCD monitors that fold up for easy portability. Attractively designed for home users and gamers on the go, the new monitors provide a protective black bezel acrylic screen with flexible silver cabinet and stand that adjust to a variety of angles including flat against its base. "Providing consumers with the freedom to easily carry their monitor around, the new units collapse into small packages that weigh only 8.6 lbs for the NEC LCD1565 and 13.2 lbs for the NEC LCD1765. Built to withstand wear and tear, the durable acrylic screen displays 88 pixels per inch on the 15-inch unit and 96 pixels per inch on the 17-inch unit for continually clear, accurate images even after years of use." Coupled with a small form-factor PC, this looks to be the ideal monitor-type for those that frequently attend LAN parties.
Press release
It really whips the Lama's ass!
Where are those paper displays I keep hearing about. The only redeeming factor in that craporama that was Red Planet was that cool pull out film that was a computer display. Imagine having something like a pen, that you pull a display out of, now that's the real future!
And ... time to bring back those comparisons to George Jetson's collapsible car.
Looks like this is just what is needed to make Sony's flexable pda described in this
New Scientist Article to become practical much sooner.
I've broken too many PDAs from rough pocket treatment. It's about time that this is remedied.
redune.com: The World 3.2 Megapixels at a time
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.
Just do a google search on 'foldable lcd'.
This is the first link that turned up: Rackmount Folding LCD Monitors - Folding LCD Monitor
Its like a laptop without a keyboard and CPU - merely a monitor which folds on the base - which is nowhere near as cool as a flexible LCD screen!
This is how it works (I have my sources. Don't question me!):
* You pay your 500 clams
* You take your monitor home and out of the packagaing
* It collapses in on it self, all black-hole-like
The reason there are no photos of it, obviously, is because it isn't human viewable. And now, a word of advice: Stand the fuck back when it collapses 'cos that things has some serious gravitational pull!
This has been a public service announcement. Thankyou.
... 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.
If you want an opinion... it doesn't look like what I expected. If you want a link (like the guy asked for) here it is: http://www.nmv.co.jp/nmvisual/hardware/index.html
You need to work out more often.
Sure, it's big, but it still fits in a backpack.
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
I had a foldable LCD screen... that is, until I folded it.
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I also on occasion give thanks to the contributions of Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and RN.
This is where I keep my clever quotes "" Yup I only got a pair, so I better not waste em!
Glad to be of service... Collapsible LCD
Of course whether these target groups will purchase it is another question...
The (Royal Dutch) Philips company is putting quite some effort into flexible display technology for some years now.
Here the Sales Pitch on their own website. There's not an awfull lot of information, but they do have some nice pics and movies (N.B. Link was broken when I checked; I'm not sure if this is a Mozilla problem or the sites). They really should put more on their websie because they are really doing some cutting edge work there...
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.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?