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LG Display's 4.3-inch bistable display concept eyes-on (video)
With all the giant screens throwing around flashy 3D graphics at SID, the smaller offerings like this LG 4.3-inch transparent bistable LCD display can be easy to overlook. Lucky for you, our hawk-eyes combined with a love for tiny gadgets landed us -- and our video camera -- right in front of this bantam wonder. Sure, bistable displays (which can retain an image when powered down) are nothing new, but this 4.3-incher was just too eye-catching to pass up -- even if it was just running a simple stick-man animation. We're not sure where LG's going with this little screen -- it is just a concept, after all -- but we can already hear advertisers and automotive designers licking their lips in anticipation. For more transparent display goodness, check out the video after the break. %Gallery-123863%
iSuppli looks at LCD dominance, emerging competition
Not that it bears repeating, but LCDs have a pretty firm grip on the display market at large. Of course, that doesn't mean that other technologies will just sit idly on the sidelines, and research firm iSuppli managed to take a closer look at emerging competitors to see just how viable some alternatives actually are. It should be noted that the report tends to focus on displays used in smaller wares, such as navigators, cellphones and heads-up displays, but the findings can certainly be applied to the HDTV industry at large. Throughout the writeup, bi-stable displays -- defined as "electronic displays that are capable of presenting an image without using power" -- are expected to see the biggest growth in the coming years, while near-eye display revenue and the global HUD market will see slightly less impressive gains. Moreover, the pocket projector market is poised to explode, as it promises gigantic output from an incredibly diminutive footprint. Granted, it remains to be seen how long it'll take for a 1080p projector to fit in the palm of one's hand, but we can safely say we're already infatuated with the idea.[Image courtesy of PolymerVision]
Qualcomm's MEMS-based e-paper handles mobile video with ease
We already know that Qualcomm and MEMS displays go hand in hand, but now the company is looking to seep into the mobile realm with an iteration that can supposedly handle fast-changing video clips without breaking a sweat. Put simply, the company's electronic-paper display "employs microscopic mechanical switches that turn pixels on and off at rates more than fast enough to display video," and unlike slower alternatives, this variation can switch on / off pixels in "just tens of microseconds." Furthermore, these units will offer up considerable energy savings when not viewing video. As it stands, full color versions are still quite a ways from commercialization, but a two-color flavor is scheduled to appear in a Hisense handset next year.
The BCD-rockin' USB Smart Flash Drive
Sure, this flash drive isn't covertly disguised as a teddy bear or housing an exceedingly capacious 64GB of storage, but it does have one thing going for it: brains. The aptly-named USB Smart Flash Drive apparently does a little thinking of its own while holding tight to your precious data, and conveys that knowledge via the Bi-stable Cholesteric Display. Although it proudly touts itself as the "world's first smart flash drive," we (and Corsair) would certainly beg to differ. Nevertheless, a little BCD competition never hurt anyone, and this rendition boasts a sleek, black enclosure, 11 character customizable display, on-the-fly readouts of megabyte usage (both numerically and graphically), LCD read / write indicator, write protect switch, and USB 2.0 connectivity. Coming in 256MB (£27.99; $53), 512MB (£29.99; $57), 1GB (£64.99; $123) and 2GB (£74.99; $142) flavors, these bright (ahem) flash drives are available now to keep you posted on just how much (or little) info you're toting.[Via Red Ferret]
