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ViewSonic Unveils Untethered Flatpanel DisplaysBy Gregg Keizer, TWN
The development will allow users of desktop PCs to rid of one more cord that the typical desktop user has to deal with and allow the display to be shifted around to accomodate the user rather than the other way around. It will also allow the display to be used with virtually any computing device -- PDA, handheld computer, etc. -- when the user needs a larger display than available on the small footprint device. Finally, it will let users step away from their desks, but still access information on their PCs.
“This is a different way at looking at computing,” said David Feldman, ViewSonic's senior product manager for mobile and wireless. “You can unchain yourself from your desk, but still get to anything on your system, whether the Internet, e-mail, or pictures.”
Aimed squarely at the consumer market, Feldman said, these so-called Smart Displays shouldn't be confused with the new crop of Tablet PCs, which Microsoft made such a deal about last week.
“They're two completely different devices,” stressed Feldman. “The Airpanel monitors extend your [existing] PC,” and do not replace the traditional desktop with a truly go-anywhere device.
The Airpanel V110 and Airpanel V150 will be released in the first quarter of 2003, Feldman said, through retail outlets such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, CompUSA, Dell Computer, and RCS Computer.
The smaller V110, priced at $999, is a 10.4-inch flat-panel display that weighs approximately 2.5 pounds, while the $1,299 V150 sports a 15-inch screen and tips the scales at 8.8 pounds. Inside each Airpanel is an Intel 400MHz XScale processor, a lithium-ion battery rated for approximately four hours, built-in microphone, a headphone jack, and one USB port for attaching a keyboard or mouse.
Both monitors feature 1,024-by-768 native resolution, include integrated support for the WiFi (802.11b) wireless networking standard, and come with a USB wireless adaptor and an upgrade to Windows XP Professional, which is required on the PC.
Using a stylus, users can point to the touch screen-enabled Airpanel to open documents, surf the Internet, and view e-mail. Like Pocket PCs, the monitors allow for handwritten notes -- again, using the stylus -- and feature an on-screen keyboard.
The V150 can double as a primary display for the desktop PC, for it also includes traditional video input.
ViewSonic's pair of mobile monitors rely on Microsoft's Windows CE.NET, which in turn is based on the OS that powers Pocket PC gear. ViewSonic, Microsoft said, will be only the first of several display makers to ship Smart Displays. Other manufacturers, including Philips in the U.S. market, and Fujitsu and NEC in Japan, will also enter the Smart Display arena.
“Smart Displays are an evolution of the monitor,” said Megan Kidd, a product manager in Microsoft's Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group. “Consumers can get away from that tethered environment [of the desktop PC], move around the home, but still access all the information on their PC. It's a nice way to enjoy the PC in a more relaxed setting.”
Some limitations apply. Streaming video, for instance, “isn't a good experience,” said Kidd. The culprit: Windows XP Professional's Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), the XP feature that allows information to be displayed down to the mobile monitor.
Microsoft is working on improving RDP, she said, but according to feedback from beta testers, video isn't a big draw. The top four uses of a Smart Display, she said, are browsing e-mail, using instant messaging, looking at digital photos that reside on the PC, and listening to audio files.
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