The annual SID show is a place to look at displays, and there were plenty of displays to look at in San Antonio. Looking at displays used to be something you did in certain predictable settings: TVs in the living room, computer monitors in the office, and movies in, of course, a movie theater. You didn’t look at phones at all, you just picked up the receiver and dialed your call. (Or asked the operator to connect you!)

Matt Brennesholtz
Insight Media Analyst

No more. The new generation wants to look at their displays everywhere, and everything has to have a display. The display makers are responding and are producing displays that can be looked at under any conditions and embedded into anything. Here are some examples of displays, intended for viewing in non-traditional locations, that I saw this week at SID.

Do you want to work on your presentation on Riverwalk in San Antonio? Mary Lou Jepsen of Pixel Qi showed me her new display for a netbook, intended to be full color with a backlight for use indoors or to be a monochrome reflective display in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight? Texas has plenty of that so we went out on Market Street to look at it. The 10" netbook display was, in fact, clearly and easily readable in the hot Texas sun.

Want to be instantly ready to give your presentation? Paul Rudy of Kaai, Inc. always carries his picoprojector with him. He is a self-confessed early-adopter. You just never know when the opportunity will arrive to make a pitch.

Want to keep track of your golf game and paper is too old school? There is a golf gadget available with a Mirasol display from Qualcomm to help you. This unit had no frontlight since, as the Qualcomm guy explained, "You don’t play golf in the dark." Qualcomm also showed a full color, 2.2", 223ppi Mirasol display and the Gen 4.5 mother glass they are made of in collaboration with their partner Sollink, Inc.

Want to read your book at the airport waiting to change planes in Atlanta for San Antonio? E Ink, now PVI, had a complete array of e-paper displays. The big E Ink news at SID was the acquisition, but don’t let it overshadow their technology.

Are you bored sitting around in a Mexican restaurant, drinking Margaritas with friends and colleagues, listening to the Mariachi band? Well, you can just watch a mountain biking video. Any flat surface will do, say a handy tortilla. That way you can amuse everyone in the restaurant, including the Mexican family of 10 celebrating Grandfather’s birthday and also the Mariachi bandleader. He wanted to buy the picoprojector on the spot, but it was just a prototype and not for sale. We explained other models were available, but he wanted that one and was willing to wait till it arrived in the Mercado.

And arrive in the Mercado it will. Did you ever have any doubt?