Monitoring Innovations in Display Technology

June 22nd, 2010

Today there are some pitched battles going in such niches as netbooks, tablet PCs, iPads and various kinds of “e-readers.” The most exciting part about any and all of these devices is the display technology, and there are envelope-pushing developments bringing us screens that feature color, touch sensitivity and video capability while using less power and lasting longer! Here’s an update for you about the latest in display screen technology.

Competition in display technology heats up

Qualcomm has a new screen technology called Mirasol (isn’t that dishwasher soap?) with a fast enough refresh rate to display video. The screens are low-power and light, perfect for the low end of the pad/tablet (“padlet”) market, which right now is Augen’s e-book reader. It has a (non-touch) LCD color screen, supports all major e-book formats, plays MP3 files and videos, and is equipped with 64MB of RAM, word processor, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, built-in speaker, headphones, SecureDigital card slot and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

While Prime View continues its move to color, scores of other firms around the world are working to get more performance with less energy and cost. One particular firm, Pixel Qi, has begun manufacturing 10-inch tablet-style screens featuring color and video that use less than half the power of a standard 10-inch LCD. The field is wide open now, and companies that are not even in the display industry – like Japanese tire maker Bridgestone, among others – are contributing to both R&D and production of new screen types. (Progress continues at the high end of screen tech, too, like the LED technology in 30″ Apple Cinema HD rentals.)

Some downsides to the upgrades

Special effects firms that meet emergency deadlines with the help of CRE Mac Pro rentals will not be trading those powerhouses in for an iPad rental or other mobile device any time soon. However, the movie trailers or animations their artists create will populate the Web, so Wi-Fi padlets will need to display them, either in browsers or with standalone media apps. The problem is that, at the low end of the netbook line now (and rumored for some upcoming padlets) you will find the Windows CE operating system. Originally released in 1996, the OS shows its age in almost every function.

Apple powers its first generation iPad with the iPhone OS, but there is talk (isn’t there always?) about the iPad running a stripped-down OS X or hybridized iPhone/OS X system. However, even with a better, multitasking OS, the CPU in the iPad can’t keep up with CRE’s iMac rentals, much less the mighty Mac towers. You will not finish your 3D shading on an iPad while lunching in the park, nor is it certain that you could even view a big JPEG file on one of the CE-powered “padlets” hitting the U.S. now.

At CRE, we stay stay current on everything — especially the technologies you need for post-production, digital workflows, conferences, conventions, presentations and the like. A phone call, e-mail or request for Quick Rental Quote will put an experienced Account Executive on the job for you right away. Whatever you need to accomplish, we can show you how to turn your problem into a successful solution. It’s what we do.

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