Quote:
Originally Posted by ProDigit
In the video they said that a netbook with this screen would rather cost $200 over this screen costing $200.
My estimation is that a netbook equipped with this screen will not cost more than $50, because the build material is very similar to LCD;in fact is the same but little optimized.
From a marketing perspective they are also not able to ask too much money for the technology, because the little battery life you gain over the many colors you lose will be a 'no' for many...
It will be a technology probably mainly aimed at netbooks,and low price laptops. So the price can't get too high. Also I thought they mentioned trying to get the technology to Africa first. Another clue that it will definitely not cost that much more, compared to a regular screen.
I heard they where trying to fuse the OLPC screen with their current technology or LCD screen (by using diagonal rows of dots instead of horizontal rows of long pixels like used on a TV).
That would yield yet another increase in resolution!
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For the Africa comment, they were referring to the One Laptop per child movement that was going on a few years back. They produced a million laptops (I believe that was the figure they quoted) for children in Africa, the XO laptop. They mentioned that in reference to did they believe they would be able to produce enough screens to meet demand, which they believe is a yes.
For the B&W, I noticed in one of the videos that when it was in the B&W mode they mentioned that there is still some color hinting that goes on and you could see some yellows and oranges so you are probably right about your comment on the way the screen works.
We'll have to wait until the screens are out to see it in person but I think that this could be a big move for netbooks, maybe the smartbooks as well, as they are typically made to just quickly surf the net and email. Having something that feels better on your eyes would be a huge plus for a lot of people if the products are marketed correctly. I don't foresee these screens in the latest MacBook or high end computer because as you noted the color quality might not good enough for people doing video editing and photography but for the average user it'll be a plus. Its good that they are getting a bunch of videos out there and trying to spread the word about their product, it gives me hope that this might really take off which I want to see it do because it seems to be taking the tech in the right direction. Your point is warranted that it may be tough for them to get a premium price on their laptops, at least in the first run through, so they will need to take some lumps up front. Next year (if as they quoted in the videos) if they are able to get some netbooks optimized for their screens with much better battery life they should be able to get at least a slight premium on their price which will make their investment worth it.