Pixel Qi's 3Qi LCD screen sized up with Kindle, CTO sheds light on your questions

Turns out Pixel Qi's CTO Mary Lou Jepsen reads Engadget, or at least the posts relevant to her company and her invention, the 3Qi screen. In addition to a side-by-side comparison of the display against the Kindle and a few other devices, in an interview with techvideoblog, she can be seen going through our most recent post and answering some of our readers' questions, including clearing up what seems to be a pretty big misconception that the screen uses e-ink for being visible in direct sunlight -- "it's standard LCD, just clever design," she explains. In one scene, she demonstrates that even in those very bright situations when the screen looks to go monochrome for visibility, you can still see a hint of color, with the full "Pleasantville" experience entering the more she moves the hardware into the shade. As for reports of the tech adding a $200 premium, she dismisses this as a misquote and infers that it was more of an example price for a laptop that'd be using the technology. There's a lot of fascinating tidbits here, including some talk on the nature of the display and laptop industries. As it stands, mass production begins this Fall, and even though you're seeing that Acer logo on the demo unit, Jepsen says it's just a prototype built into a laptop they bought at Radio Shack and that no manufacturing partners have been confirmed. Make sure the closest star isn't beaming down at your screen and head on after the break for the both videos.

Read - Mary Lou Jepsen answers user comments
Read - Pixel Qi vs Kindle vs Toshiba R600 vs regular LCD tablet

[ultimatepwnage @ Jun 7th 2009 6:07PM]

FINALLY i can watch a movie outside in the sun.... in semi - grayscale, that is.

[MeowR- @ Jun 7th 2009 8:25PM]

Still probably better than being washed out by the sun or it playing off your face.. or the reflection of...

[Amrosorma @ Jun 7th 2009 6:10PM]

Not so gadget related but I gotta say, kudos to Mary Lou Jepsen for setting a wonderful example to other companies by reading Engadget and the comments of the users here.

[OneLove @ Jun 7th 2009 6:26PM]

i'd hit it.

[rcarm @ Jun 7th 2009 7:07PM]

I won't.

[gerrrg @ Jun 7th 2009 6:36PM]

This is pretty neat stuff. If you could skip the laptop and go for a touch-screen tablet, this would sell. You could read digital newspapers outside while sipping your coffee.

[gerrrg @ Jun 7th 2009 6:39PM]

Oh yeah....and it's awesome that she ran Slumdog on VLC player! VLC rules!

[Brad Green @ Jun 7th 2009 8:11PM]

Those two videos earn about 1,000,000 geek points each.

[reader @ Jun 7th 2009 6:44PM]

More questions:

1. what is achievable angle of viewing for that screen? Both for engineering sample and expected for production models?
2. what about color space in production models in backlight mode - does it depend on backlight colorspace only?
3. LED backlight compatible?
4. it's said that 10 inch models will be first into production - but does the technology scales to all current LCD sizes?

It's a pitty the interviewer didn't ask about it...

[kadajawi @ Jun 7th 2009 10:02PM]

If I recall correctly (watch the first video that engadget posted, in the previous article) there is no real engineering sample, they produced the samples using the same machines one would use to mass produce.

Also, the technology should scale to any typical TFT size, they just think that netbooks are the best market for these screens, so they start with 10". A bigger problem will be making it touchscreen, since most touchscreens add too much glossiness.

[Tim @ Jun 7th 2009 6:50PM]

So how does this actually work? It's pretty hard to evaluate the technology from a video & to be honest it just looks like a non-backlit LCD screen (calculator style).

[gerrrg @ Jun 7th 2009 6:56PM]

There's a part in the video where she turns on the backlight.

[me @ Jun 7th 2009 7:08PM]

Cool.

[Pfanne @ Jun 7th 2009 7:14PM]

watch the first video and pay attention at 11:56...
and see the coolness of my nick o_O
btw
i would have loved to see a glossy screen in the direct sunlight compared to the other three...

[Jeff Lee @ Jun 7th 2009 7:20PM]

This definitely needs to be in my next laptop... =( I need a new laptop soon though. What to do?

[musback @ Jun 9th 2009 4:16PM]

To do: Visit North-Koreans or any other fugitives and learn about their hard choices to make in life... Like: should I risk my life and leave my family forever to desert them to probably die in detention camps because I ecaped?

[VT @ Jun 7th 2009 7:21PM]

That technology looks great!!! It has so much potential, imagine an internet tablet, like techcrunch tablet, with full color display for surfing and multimedia and then turn black & white mode and read an e-book, the perfect device!!! I a couple of years I hope it will be everywhere, practical, cheap, with good battery life. Can't wait!!!

[cppguy @ Jun 7th 2009 7:34PM]

Oh I so want this screen on my DSLR. I wonder if Nikon or Canon will introduce a new camera with such an LCD first.

[eli.stuy @ Jun 7th 2009 7:34PM]

two questions:

1) battery life differences with back light and without (against eink and regular lcd)

2) in optimum visibility (in a regular work environment, not outside, perhaps even in the dark. with back light) how much worse is the color and details against a good lcd- can one get full 1920x1200 in say a 15.4" screen- or even 14" (or less, what are the limitations)?

[John bailey @ Jun 7th 2009 10:52PM]

Battery will last longer, but not that much longer. E-ink is still the most power efficient, because it only uses power to change the display. LCD uses power to maintain the display, so every second you use it, it uses power.

These are good for laptops/PDAs/phones etc. Not so good for an e-book reader.

E-ink is good for phones/e-book readers/anything that does not require fast screen updates, but would benefit from long long battery life.

[tehslax @ Jun 7th 2009 7:40PM]

Hahah, she has a digital integrated circuit book on her kindle! or semiconductor devices

[m.edgar @ Jun 7th 2009 7:46PM]

I love the innovation; take the existing infrastructure, remix it and make something better.

But what I love even more is the fact that I might be able to retrofit this tech into my just bought 1000he eeepc! That would so be awesome that I'd have to pre-order and pay for that pre-order right now if only I could.

[gltovar @ Jun 7th 2009 8:20PM]

why is cellphone screens being ignored with the tech?!? seems like the perfect application, i mean its nice to be able to use a laptop in the sun, but you are more likely to use a cellphone in the sun!

[Joseph @ Jun 7th 2009 10:09PM]

You are so right. My cell has an OLED screen, and I can't see it at all in daylight.

[Charbax @ Jun 7th 2009 11:52PM]

If you watch the first video http://techvideoblog.com/computex/pixel-qi-screen-demo-live-from-taipei/ they say that the smartphone display is planned.. Though first mass manufacturing run will be 10" netbook screens.

[loopyoyo @ Jun 7th 2009 8:35PM]

best post of the week....down with the palm pre!!

[ARAY @ Jun 7th 2009 8:37PM]

This woman is a gift from God! And very fitting of the name Mary!

Even better is that she's very sexy in that shirt! She's friggin beautiful!

Mary, do you know what I want your screen for? Do you really know? No, you don't know! And I'm very angry that NO one has mentioned this..... NOT EVEN YOU!

I want it for reading SHEET MUSIC! For sight reading!

Please grant me a 15-inch screen just for sight-reading! I don't need a touch screen... I don't need a laptop.... Because I already have one of those... Only the screen (with a wire running into it).... and a few programmable buttons to control the pages (a pedal control would be nice). Mary, I'd prefer to use your screen with my existing laptop so please just GIVE me the darn screen and stop teasing me! Why do I have to buy another laptop?

I'd be willing to pay $600 just for the screen....


I have thousands and thousands of pages of sheet music in PDF format (maybe hundreds of thousands of pages, to be honest) and can't make the sort of use of them that I want to! So fulfill my wish and just give me the screen with a few buttons on the side. I can connect it to my current laptop... just ship it with a very long cord (for both power and signal)! USB power would be nice if possible, but I have an outlet!

Stop stalling on us and... Give me the SCREEN! Give me the SCREEN!

Every one on campus could make use of it!

Love,

ARAY ; )

I will kiss you everywhere if you do this! Go grab a musician and demo him using your screen to read the music!

[kimmik @ Jun 7th 2009 11:41PM]

wtf

[superhobo @ Jun 8th 2009 6:37AM]

wtf

[Pat @ Jun 7th 2009 11:13PM]

It's full color even in "sun mode"...

[Plothole @ Jun 8th 2009 3:46PM]

It's color "hinting" in sunlight. Meaning that it's heavily desaturated.

[Benjamin @ Jun 7th 2009 11:25PM]

Hmm... the cameraman is really annoying... SERIOUSLY. teach your taiwanese guy some interviewing skills for the love of god... i can just sense that genius woman getting stressed over him... he kept aiming for the boobs too..... new flash taiwanese or chinese guy... SHES NOT THAT HOT!

i havent finished watching the video but i needed to comment on the lame excuse of a journalist you have over there....

if he reads this i just want to say i mean it as constructive criticism.

[Charbax @ Jun 7th 2009 11:57PM]

I'm Danish and Swiss, and have been video-blogging like this in HD quality on http://techvideoblog.com since 2004. Sorry if you don't like it. Instead of doing short and formal, I try to film some long videos, improvised and spontaneous and try to show the truth. If you think that you have some better questions to ask, perhaps you could write them here and that would be source for another video.

[pavlindrom @ Jun 8th 2009 9:35AM]

Take that, Benji!

[derek @ Jun 8th 2009 2:26AM]

I used to type outdoors all the time on my old monochrome Toshiba T1850 and this new display blows it out of the water. I haven't done the outdoor thing in years for lack of good displays. Even the AFFS+ displays aren't quite there yet. This technology, however, looks fantastic.

It sounds like those who do a lot of outdoor work will see a huge benefit over the long-term with a backlight that lasts many times longer.

While I do own a ThinkPad X41 Tablet with the BOE-Hydis AFFS panel which is supposed to be way better in sunlight, I haven't taken it outdoors yet while operating because I don't have a working battery and dragging an extension cord out that far sounds silly.

[Ian @ Jun 8th 2009 5:13AM]

The browser in the first article image appears to be broken. It says "Internet Explorer" in place of the name of a web browser. Weird.

Hopefully that's not a shot from an Engadget staffer's machine, they'd surely be fired, or at least have their Geek Web membership card revoked.

[Wevenhuis @ Jun 8th 2009 6:28AM]

Great interviews. A lot in information. Main conclusion: it pays to be patient.

[SiXiam @ Jun 8th 2009 12:05PM]

How easy is the screen on the eyes, if I were to read War and Peace?
Not that I have... lol

[ChrisWalters9000 @ Jun 8th 2009 5:21PM]

Suddenly my Kindle looks ugly and stupid and I hate it.