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Hands-on With Pixel Qi Screens In Full Sunlight
griffjon writes with this drool-inducing bit, describing a "side-by-side comparison of the OLPC's screen and an Acer with the new Pixel Qi screen installed, both of course sharing Mary Lou Jepsen's screen technology: 'The XO's dual mode screen still rules in terms of pixel resolution at 1200 x 900 vs. the Acer's 1024 x 600. It was amazing to see Windows 7, Amazon Kindle software, the New York Times web site and a QuickTime video in direct sunlight. Shades of gray and some color tints are visible. Besides the XOs and e-ink based Kindle ereaders, no other color screen device I own can be seen as clearly in sunlight. Not even the famed iPad. In the video, you can see that at a certain angle where line of sight and sun are aligned, the new Pixel Qi screen glows as if backlit!'"
i will buy one when they come out with a netbook like that standard. not because i want to replace the screen, but because of the cost. after a few months of competition, the sunlight screen netbooks will become reasonably priced.
also, it would be nice if it had one of those fancy middle hinges so you can truly read it like an ebook reader. and, of course, a touch screen version of this would be too awesome for words.
Those of us who think they know everything annoy those of us who do.
This is mostly true. However, I have had legitimate uses for a laptop while in a bright outdoorsy environment. For instance, I've worked on rovers of various sorts that I drove using a laptop. Even when they operated autonomously, I would still trail along behind with a laptop for data collection purposes, or to just keep on eye on what they were doing. This was especially difficult when the rovers were working out in the middle of a snow/ice field. Between the sun shining overhead and the glare of the snow, the laptop screen was almost unreadable.
If you're outside, you should, you know, be outside, doing outsidey kinds of things.
Man , please look at the potential rather than just immediately pigeonholing these type of devices as things that cross social boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. I for one read books in the park and maybe in 20 years time I won't need to lug around a 1000 page novel when I'm only going to be reading 1 or two pages in a lunchtime; this device will suit me down to the ground.
Like relaxing on a beach while reading a book?
I have an eeePC, and because of the screen-rotation feature, found it an ideal little book reader. It is lighter than many books of the same size, it can be cradled comfortably in my off-hand (left, in my case), and the arrow keys end up in about the location where I'd naturally reach to turn a page. Beyond casual reading on a beach, that little laptop is great for caching offline web pages for bird and plant identification, and for a variety of other field references. Its only weakness is viewing the display in sunlight, so I, for one, welcome this innovation.
I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...
Why go to all that trouble - it's easier just to put "iPhone" or "iPad" in the summary to the editors and be done with it. Especially if it's on Timothy's watch.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
You seem to only see the how people will use the computer instead of doing "outsidey things".
I see it as the opposite. If I work with a computer anyway, and assuming I'm not confined to the company's office, why shouldn't I at least be able to do it outside, enjoying the sun and fresh hair?
If people are "nerds" they'll be using a computer anyway. Preventing them from using it outside won't result in people spending more time doing sports, it'll just result in more people being in the darkness of their houses.
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Damn, just noticed it. Sorry!
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"no other color screen device I own can be seen as clearly in sunlight. Not even the famed iPad."
is the ipad a particularly good screen in direct sunlight, or was it just an excuse to mention your "famed ipad" ?
I'd like that screen on my mobile phone. That's where I'd need a sunlight-readable, battery conserving display most. Most GPS functions only work outside due to feeble GPS signals, but at the same time the display become almost unreadable.
There are plenty of business opportunities and markets for Mary Lou to explore !
Markus
If you're outside, you should, you know, be outside, doing outsidey kinds of things.
You mean like: masturbating, having sex with animals, anal sex, sex, peeping, ... things like that?
RIP America
July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001
For once, I see the standardized parts working as they are meant to be. Swapping components on a netbook is hard to say the least, but to see someone just grab a part & shove it into a netbook, tells me that this could very well turn out to be one of the "optional" features for people when ordering off their favourite supplier.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
I really want one for my HP mini 311, but the screen is 11.6" compared to this DIU kit. I've searched for details, but couldn't find any.
Every time I buy a laptop, I take a look at what my laptop is lacking and put that into a list of what I want in my next one. Being able to use it outside effectively has been on the list since my first one (after all, it's a laptop, it's portable, I want to use it outside). My current one converts into a tablet, which is definitely nice; I can now use it while walking, but the display is not up to snuff and in bright daylight it is unreadable. Depending upon how things play out with OLED displays (still 5 years away nearly 10 years after I heard about the technology), a transflective screen may be what I end up looking for in my next portable computer.
Tell that to the UPS delivery person.
"If you're outside, you should, you know, be outside, doing outsidey kinds of things."
Such as reading vehicle manuals when I work on them outdoors, ordering parts with the help of online catalogs, looking up welding consumables so I can email the part number and pick them up later... :)
With a display I can read in sunlight, I could comfortably speed up much of the work I do. Even inside, squinting to see detail sucks, and being able to stand back from a screen and read it easily is a plus.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Pixel Qi + Cortex + Android + MeeGo + Open-Source Hardware + XO Laptop + Arduino
Oh god, I thought you were describing an actual device for a minute there. I think I just had a nerdgasm.
I see it as the opposite. If I work with a computer anyway, and assuming I'm not confined to the company's office, why shouldn't I at least be able to do it outside, enjoying the sun and fresh hair?
Exactly. There's a nicely landscaped grassy area outside my office. If I was doing something paper based I could go out there and work on a fine day. With a suitable screen and WiFi, I could work on my laptop out there.
With my current standard laptop screen, I can't do that. I can't even sit and work in my conservatory at home if the sun's out.
Why did you have to trail behind the car, why not just sit in the passenger seats?
How long before this screen makes its way into e-readers? I would imagine that being able to play content at that high frame rate would be a boon to the e-reader as a multi-use device. The kindle already has limited internet capability; this screen would greatly increase the utility of the device.
Tough. I want a neural interface. This is here now, though.
yep. no reading outside. If/when you work at home, no taking your laptop poolside instead of locking yourself up.
Half-full vs Half-empty: do while outdoors things we would normally have to be indoors to do, or start doing indoor-sy things when we have to be outdoors. Oh wait, when do we HAVE TO be outdoors ?
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
This is just great. So much for telling my kids to go outside to play to get them off the video games.
perfect now shove it all into an ipad body and sell it for $399 and i will buy it.
the ipad is a nice form factor I just have to wait 2-3 years for anyone else to make something similar, as for what I want it for I will want features apple won't approve.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
I want video-capable screen update times, full and vibrant color under all types of lighting conditions that I could otherwise comfortably read a normal book in, and not have the requirement that under any of them I might have to feel like I'm reading while staring into a flashlight.
And I want a pony. Well, no, actually, I want a Maserati, but the outcome is still the same. I don't get what I want, so I have to live with the best that I can afford.
Pixel Qi screens are not perfect, but they are still a major step ahead compared to contemporary display tech, in that they blend some of the best qualities of normal and eInk screens with practically no downsides. That is already a big deal - if I can have a general-purpose tablet that can also work as non-eye-straining ebook reader with great battery life, well, that's awesome!
More will come in due time.
TFA compares the 1.5 to an Acer. When the hell did the 1.5 start shipping and where can I get one? Or even just the motherboard? :(
--- Do you believe in the day?
Like these? http://www.mirasoldisplays.com/
or was it just an excuse to mention your "famed ipad" ?
Stand down there soldier! I know you Apple Haters just go wild at any mention of an Apple product, so you probably overlooked the fact that "famed iPad" was heavily sarcastic! He dislikes Apple as much as you, no need to attack him.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Not necessarily. The Notion Ink guys, if you believe them, will be coming out with one later this year.
I've been patiently holding my breath for a while now.
Do these words of wisdom also apply to people who work outside?
Now, it isn't like I have to sully the purity of my untanned pastiness by facing sunlight on the clock; but I've heard persistent rumors of people who make vocational use of computers, among other tools, in the merciless company of our nearest star...
Yes, exactly.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
which are indoor / outdoor viewable.
The problem is finding units which have them --- picked up a Fujitsu Stylistic ST-4121 w/ one and it's perfectly readable in direct sunlight --- I use it as a map display unit on long trips.
Not many new units being made w/ such displays though.
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
If you're outside, you should, you know, be outside, doing outsidey kinds of things.
Laptops are only an "indoorey" thing because their screens are pretty crap in the sunlight. This fixes the problem, thus why shouldn't computers be an "outsidey" kind of thing?
I use my XO outside all of the time. It's great to sit on a quiet bench in a park, have some lunch, feed the ducks and hack on some Python :)
So far the early OLED cell phones are worse than LCDs. The need to try to overpower the sun for visibilty which isn't a great idea.
Transreflective solutions will win in these circumstances.
Move here to Munich! you won't have any problem about full sunlight, but maybe you will need a weatherproof notebook...
I have an XO-1 and its screen is fantastic in the sun. Of course Pixel Qi screens will excel there.
What I'm curious about is whether they fixed the reflection angle (reflective mode indoors only works if you bounce light off a wall, otherwise you just get a point of reflected light somewhere on the screen.) Also, when you go backlit, there's color, but everything looks fuzzy, and you get a diagonal line effect across the screen. I'm wondering if they've fixed those yet...
I'm cheering for their efforts though. Some day hopefully I have a laptop that's visible outside AND performs better than my desktop in 1998.
no other color screen device I own can be seen as clearly in sunlight
The ancient GameBoy Color has such a display. Although horrible indoors, it shines outdoors due to a highly reflective display that lacks back-lighting. And the kids love 'em like the Zune! Plus, none of those messy downloadable games. Just pure cartridgy goodness.
This is the NSA, we're gonna geet U h@x0r5! Also, what is a h@x0r5?
> Laptops are only an "indoorey" thing because their screens are pretty crap in the sunlight.
Also: heat, humidity, dust, and bugs.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Meh, the iPad won't fit into my pocket. Give me something in the same sort of form factor as the N900, with an HDMI output, and I'll happily pay a similar amount.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
No one's played an original Game Boy? (or even the Game Boy Advance...) It used to be that for most LCD screens, you ~needed~ to be in direct sunlight to see anything at all. There was a mirror where we expect the backlight to be today. It worked pretty well, really.
Reread what I wrote. At no point did I diminish the accomplishments of this display. I simply pointed out where, in my opinion, its shortcomings are for my purposes.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
yep. any quarter now.
next quarter it will become 2011, After that it will be late 2011.
The real secret to apple's success is they don't announce anything that isn't actually ready for shipping. Even in software there are very few broken promises. It is the one thing that I wish every other computer company would mimic.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
Actually, I said "Thanks, but no". I said that the lack of good color viewable in direct sunlight does not meet my own expectations for a display. At most, I say it's unworthy of *MY* consideration, as my initial post really only focused on what *MY* expectations are, yet for some reason all but one of the responses I've seen here so far (and it also appears I've been modded down as well) seem to suggest that the purpose of my post was actually to belittle the endeavor. I didn't just stop and say something like "that's just not good enough", and leave it at that. I actually described what I _would_ expect from a display. And if people just aren't allowed to say what they want just because they can't have it right now, what's the point of looking forward at all?
Anyways, my expectations are not unrealistically high. For me, this display represents an accomplishment is not significant enough at this point in time. A few years ago, I probably would have been all over this transflective technology, but there's far better (IMO) coming down the pipe within the next year or so.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
P.S. Actually, I did say "no thanks"... i was initially just looking at the subject heading and had forgotten the exact words I used in the original post. However, I still don't think that what I wrote was particularly rude.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Basically, it sounds like you are asking for a reflective color display with no backlight. They exist, but they aren't particularly popular, so it'll be very expensive. Most people are used to having to adjust a lamp to be able to read a book, but expect to be able to see their laptop screen in cases where reading a book wouldn't be particularly convenient.
They exist? Where? The only one I know of that meets the requirements I listed won't be appearing in any commercial devices before the last quarter of this year.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Rover is/was a car manufacturer.
Last I read Notion Ink *will* come later this year with their tablet. But with a regular TFT. The Pixel Qi display will have to wait for a later model.
I agree though that this type of display is more important for tablets than for regular netbooks or notebooks. Only geeks use notebooks out in the sun and even then only rarely. You're much more likely to do only some light consuming out in the sun and this is what tablets are good at. I can image roasting in the sun and reading a book, but programming or such? Give me a dark basement deep at night for that.
I've always found that the solution to reading books in direct sunlight is to turn around so that your back is to the sun. Of course, I'm not sure this would work with a computer.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Remind me not to go camping where you live.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it