HP Enterprise had a big booth, but HP Inc had a more muted presence, attending Showstoppers and the Pepcom event. There was also a group in the new technology area of the show and HP Labs was showing a new prototype mirror display that is being designed to tie in with mobile devices.
The mirror display used a 65″ UltraHD display fitted with a special film. HP staff told us that there is a problem with current mirror displays – that is that they have a significant effect on the colour of the reflection and that means that a number of applications in retail do not work as well as potential buyers would like. Applications where mirrors would be more popular in cosmetic sales and fashion sales if the colour performance was better. The HP film does give accurate colour, but at the moment there is a challenge in ensuring durability, as retailers really want to ‘install and forget’ them.
The experience of using a mirror needs to be carefully designed, but HP said that its research shows that consumers are more comfortable using mirror displays than they are with standard displays using cameras to create a mirror effect. HP would like to move to a commercial product, but at the moment, the durability issues are preventing that.
Analyst Comment
HP also showed another issue with mirror displays. They need cleaning very often, otherwise they quickly look bad. That has been a barrier for some retailers already. (BR)
