New Display Technologies Offer Low Power Alternatives
Oct 23, 2007, 1:14 PM by (staff)
Two new display technologies have come to market that offer low power alternatives to traditional displays. The Acoustic Research ARWH2 stereo Bluetooth headset uses a Qualcomm MEMS display for its status display. The MEMS display is a reflective display that offers much brighter colors and higher contrast than previous technologies. It saves power because it does not need a backlight and only requires a front-light in low light situations. Updated: Another display technology known as electro-wetting is now available to manufacturers. Electrowetting displays are low-power displays that works by moving liquid to fill or empty a cell to create an image. The display can be any single color to match the surface of a product. Full-color versions are in development.
Comments
Here's a good use case for this: GPS flip phones
Ok, that's obvious (and even shown on qualcomm's website), but wait. Suppose the outside display had the same resolution as the inside. Then, when you close the flip phone, the power thrifty outside display could show the same information as the power hungry inside (lighted) display.
This would be especially good for GPS phones, since one typically uses the GPS feature outside during the day. Here the low power use is essential, because using a GPS mapping program more than a few minutes without a charger kills the battery. With such a display, one could realistically start to use a cell phone as a navigation system while on foot or on bike.
I think this is similar to E-paper
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;846199453 ... »
Any photos of this display in use?
But heck, brighter colors, and more battery life is definetly a good thing.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/23/sharp-develops-wo ... »