Pixel Qi turns into ideal 10-inch companion display with wired and Wireless USB, 1.5W power needs
Pixel Qi has today announced it's taking the next step in its quest for global domination of sunlight-readable displays. Partnering up with German outfit Display Solution AG, the company is about to start selling its 10-inch, 1024 x 600 panels as standalone units, which you'll be able to hook up to your computer or smartphone via USB, either the wired or Wireless version. Power consumption maxes out a measly 1.5W with the LED backlight turned on, meaning that one USB tether will be sufficient to feed it both power and data. We don't know exactly how long we've waited for a secondary screen with this sort of flexibility, but it's sure been a while. Look for Display Solution to start selling these hotcakes next month.
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Wireless Pixel Qi display module can be controlled by another device, using new Display Solution AG board solution
Gilching, Bavaria, Germany, and San Bruno, California, USA
September 28th, 2010
Have you ever wanted an extra reading screen for your laptop – one that could be plugged in via USB (or wirelessly driven) when you need the extra screen real estate, or need to show someone else screen information? Of course, this extra screen would need to be small & light enough to carry, very low power, offer crisp text for good reading and be readable in any light – even in sunlight.
Download short movie clip here. An outdoor comparison of Pixel Qi screen running off of USB-only compared to a standard LCD screen with 5-fold the power consumption (causing rapid battery drain in the case of standard LCD). Even with the high power load the standard LCD screen images aren't visible, and the Pixel Qi screen images are crisp while just sipping low power from USB-only. We have also enabled wireless-USB solution is also enabled to allow driving the screen without tethers or wires at all – a new kind of tablet with connection to laptop or cellphone!
Today we announce such a solution, the Display Solutions d-screen-Qi10. Display Solutions AG has developed the d-screen-HYBRID driver board which has been combined with the low power, sunlight readable Pixel Qi 10" screen. This module can be plugged into a laptop (or even some phones) via USB for easy access to a second screen. Even better, you can skip the cables completely and use this second screen via wireless-USB: meaning the data is sent to the screen wirelessly and the screen runs on batteries alone.
The Pixel Qi screen used is an innovative 10.1" TFT Liquid Crystal Display with LED backlight which supports 1024×600 mode and can display 262,144 colors in the transmissive mode. The screen also uses any roomlight or sunlight available to support two low power modes: a transflective mode where the backlight stays and any roomlight adds to the screen brightness, and a pure reflective mode that is black and white (with 64 grayscales) which is bright and clear even in direct sunlight. This technology enables subpixel rendering, standard now with most operating systems, and higher actual (native) resolution (3072×600) for very crisp text.
In order to make the Pixel Qi display technology available for the embedded market and for developers and individual users, Display Solution AG adapted this screen to their latest board generation (d.screen-HYBRID) which supports USB / Wireless-USB (based on DisplayLinkTM technology) as well as Ethernet (10/100Mbit, Gigabit) connected displays. We announce here a sunlight readable USB-connected system solution with a total power consumption of 1.5W, only. All of the power is delivered from USB, no battery or power adaptor is needed.
Norbert Feuchtgruber, CEO of Display Solution AG, said "our working with Pixel Qi screens is enabling an important step forward in low-power systems – and we believe these will find great use in many fields where portable screens are needed."
Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen, CEO and founder of Pixel Qi Corp., said "We are pleased that Display Solutions has adopted our low-power, use-anywhere screens in a way that will enable many new applications and device types. This solves a problem that other tablets have not yet addressed."
Display Solutions will start selling the newly designed d-screen-Qi10 in October.
About Display Solutions AG
Display Solutions, based in Gilching, Bavaria, Germany, is a leading developer and marketer of customized LCD solutions for existing and future markets, combining leading-edge screen and electronic technologies. Products range from single components to complete system solutions built around TFT displays for commercial and industrial use with application in such areas as digital signage, point-of-sale, point-of-information, automation, measurement engineering, medical instruments, and other mobile and embedded applications.
www.display-solution.com
About Pixel Qi Corporation
Pixel Qi Corporation, the world's only non-captive LCD screen designer, has pioneered a new class of screens combining an e-paper look with color and video. These screens offer dramatically lower power consumption, full sunlight readability, and stunning text rendering for reading. The screens use standard LCD manufacturing equipment and materials with a full suite of new inventions to give users real benefits they can see. Pixel Qi, with offices in Silicon Valley, California and Taipei, Taiwan, is a spin-off of One Laptop per Child (OLPC) and was founded by OLPC's former CTO Mary Lou Jepsen. Pixel Qi believes that the future of computing is all about the screen and is dedicated to continuously delivering innovative screen technologies rapidly into high volume mass production.
