Pixel Qi Screens Great for eReaders, same for netbooks
Time Magazine’s John Quittner was able to get a firsthand look at the Pixel Qi-screened Acer Aspire One netbook rigged by Mary Lou Jepsen’s, founding CTO of One Laptop Per Child, team. A switch was placed on the side of the screen that allows the switch between modes: emissive, which is the typical LCD display, and reflective.The PQ-screened netbook was reportedly as easy to read as the Kindle outdoors, without flicker or speckling. Plus, Pixel Qi’s screen handled colors pretty well, much like a regular LCD can. The reflective screen also extended battery life an hour than normal.
For a voracious e-book reader, Pixel Qi’s display is a great idea, with it’s ePaper mode and being able to handle 205 DPI (according to Jepsen). I pretty much use my iPod Touch with ebooks, so I’m not sure how much an Kindle handles. Although Time said it’s 167 DPI. DPI is how crisp the font is. Pixel Qi is really pushing for their new screens which rival EInk’s (which is used by Kindle) that has reflective technology.
If we’re talking solely e-reader, then the Pixel Qi’s screen is a definite great idea. Jepsen says that with a killer ebook reading app, an ebook reader with a Pixel Qi’s screen can go up to 40 hours without charging. Which makes the thought, of how long will a standalone ebook reader be trendy? We love combining everything into one (i.e. the smartphone and netbook into the smartbook; the iPhone, etc.) How long will people enjoy the ebook reader when we’re constantly pushing for more functionality into our gadgets?
If we’re talking netbook, Jensen added that the screens are also really cheap to produce, well under $200. If you look at the netbook market right now, some netbooks come under $200 which means that the screens need to cost a lot lower before it could actually make its way to, let’s say, an Asus Eee PC.
But with good quality screens, longer battery life, and inexpensive price? Why not?
via Time Magazine
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Filed under: Netbook Thoughts
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