If you’re short on both physical and virtual desktop space, you might be interested in these little USB DisplayLink adapters from EVGA. They’re small, stackable, reasonably good looking, and will pump out resolutions of up to 1600×1200 (or 1680 x 1050 widescreen) via your USB port, no additional VGA or DVI ports on your computer needed. The DisplayLink USB driver takes care of all the messy parts; all you have to do is plug a DVI or VGA external monitor into the UV12 (or UV16 if you want the higher resolutions), plug the unit into your USB port, and you’ve got yourself an expanded display or a mirrored display or even an upside-down display if you so choose.
The EVGA UV12 and UV16 support XP and Vista, but don’t have an onboard GPU, so your computer will be doing the graphics crunching. They come with a DVI to VGA Adapter, and are available now for “well below $100.”
Super thin display panels are rapidly approaching the point at which they will cease to exist if you look at them sideways, as this minuscule 0.02mm (that’s 0.0079 inch) 320 x 220 OLED panel developed by Sony demonstrates. If you don’t have a metric ruler handy, 0.2mm qualifies as “micro point” when it comes to ballpoint pen tips. If you can handle a 50% increase in thickness, Sony also has produced a 0.3mm, 11″ (960 x 540) prototype, which is ten times thinner than their very, very thin production model OLED TV.
No production plans yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of this stuff in a product or two next year at CES, if not before.
SANYO today announced a couple of new projectors in their ‘T’ Series line designed for the education and business presentation markets. The PLC-ET30L features a 1400 x 1050 resolution with 10-bit gamma correction which is the perfect way to make PowerPoint’s default blue gradient background really pop. It also has 4200 lumens allowing it to project a bright image even in an environment where the lights can’t be turned off. SANYO also announced the PLC-XT21/L projector which is a value priced version of the ET30L with a reduced resolution of 1024×768.
Both projectors feature a whisper quiet fan that produces just 35 dBA of noise, and something called the One-Way Flow System which uses a single intake and exhaust vent with easily accessible dust filters. They also come with SANYO’s PJ Network Interface which allows you to monitor the projector and adjust any settings from a web browser. While it requires you to buy the optional POA-PN03C networking module for this functionality, it’s a great solution if the projector ends up mounted on a high ceiling. With a lens the PLC-ET30L will set you back $6,495 while the PLC-XT21/L is a bit cheaper at $4,495.
While video projectors have come down in price and size over the years, it seems there’s still a trade-off between image quality and resolution vs. portability. So while the specs on this micro projector are kind of vague, I think you can safely assume you’re not going to end up with an experience like you’d get at a digitally equipped movie theater. On the back of the projector is an SD card slot, and from what I can tell it can play a variety of digital video formats, as well as MP3s and even photos. But it also includes composite audio and video connections for connecting a DVD player or gaming console.
It’s powered by a set of 4 AA batteries which give it a maximum projection of about 40 inches x 33 inches. Not particularly impressive for a home theater, and I can’t imagine the battery life is that great either. It’s available from DrinkStuff.com for about $197, so we’ll just file this under ‘you get what you pay for.’
I swung by the Stanford Cool Product Expo yesterday to have a look at some of the… uh… cool products being showcased by companies from the Stanford University community (design groups, startups, etc.). I have a thing for nifty displaysystems, so BumpTop and their giant touchscreen caught my eye right off the bat. Take a look:
BumpTop is different from things like Surface for the simple reason that it’s software driven and requires no special hardware. You can use it with your mouse, or two mice to emulate a multitouch display. ‘Course, ideally you’d have a touchscreen to get the most out of the system, and by the time BumpTop launches later this year, hopefully we’ll have some affordable touchscreen computing platforms to choose from. I’m looking at you, Asus.
The prototype version (the one I saw appears to be a later beta version) showcases some neat little tricks that weren’t obvious in the above demo; you can see the prototype in action on YouTube after the jump. If you’re in any doubt how neat the little tricks actually are, you should know that the prototype demo video is ranked #10 in all time views in YouTube in the sci/tech category. So yeah, it’s cool. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m kind of sitting on the fence when it comes to how useful this Dual Multimedia Display from Samsung really is. The primary display is a 22-inch LCD with a resolution of 1680×1050, while the secondary display is a tiny 7-inch LCD with a resolution of just 800×480. So in a way, it’s like having an Asus EEE attached to the side of your monitor. The secondary display relies on a USB UbiSync connection and is attached to the back of the primary display with an articulating arm allowing it to be moved to any side. (Except the bottom.) It can even be completely removed from the arm, and used as a standalone monitor.
The smaller display is supposed to be used for applications like instant messengers, media players or email apps that you want to continuously monitor, but don’t want cluttering your main work display. But with a price tag of around $550, you’d be better off investing in 2 slightly smaller displays if you have the desk real estate.
Back at CES, we told you that Microsoft Surface would be showing up in retail locations sometime this spring. We were told that it would be Las Vegas at first, but instead, we’re going to see it in five AT&T retail stores on April 17th, where (if you’re lucky and live near one of the stores) YOU can try it out for yourself. Here’s what you’ll be able to do:
• Learn. Customers can review features of a particular mobile device by simply placing it on the display. Surface will recognize the device and provide a graphical overview of its capabilities. Customers will be able to place two devices side by side on the unit and easily compare their features.
• Explore. Customers view interactive coverage maps at the national, state, local or street level, using simple touch and hand movement to scale and move the maps, determining their coverage area.
• Customize. In the future, customers will be able to drag and drop ring tones, graphics, video and more by “grabbing” content with their hands from a menu on the display and “dropping” it into the phone.
At first, you’ll be able to test Surface with the store’s (not your personal) Samsung BlackJack II, LG Shine, BlackBerry Curve 310, Samsung a737, Sony Ericsson w580i, Sony Ericsson z750, Pantech Duo, or Motorola v3xx. After the jump, see where the first units will be located. Read the rest of this entry »
Here at the OhGizmo West Coast Regional Command and Control Center (aka my desk), the staff (aka me) is reasonably happy with our high-tech tactical display system (aka my laptop). That doesn’t mean that we don’t want one or six of these 80″ Mitsubishi MegaView Wall™ video wall cubes, which are “designed specifically for large command and control centers.” In fact, in order to buy one of these (or even find out the price), you’ll need to contact your “authorized systems integrator.” 80″ is certainly big, but it’s not that big, and it’s only SXGA+ (1400 x 1050 pixels). But for a bezel-less rear projection system of its size, it’s bright (190 cd/m2), with high contrast and good viewing angles. It’s also got an optional motorized adjustment tool, to facilitate the seamless integration of a few dozen of these babies in your top-secret volcano lair.
I’m such a sucker for eye/finger candy like this. The video comment says it was at the booth of T-Online, a large European ISP, but there aren’t any other details. Next year, I’m sure David will be more than happy to send us all to Germany to check this stuff out for ourselves.
I love to multi task when sitting at my desk. I’ve got four monitors running at any given time, and I think that’s a pretty good setup. However, if you really need a lot of workspace, you might just look into the Paramount Parabolic Multi-Monitor Display from Humanscale.
My configuration includes three wall-mounted monitors and one that sits on my desk. While this unit from Humanscale doesn’t actually provide the monitors, it does accommodate between two and four monitors on a single unit, which is attached to your desk. What’s better is that monitors attach “effortlessly” without the need of tools, and actually curve around you. Frankly, if I ever decide to add any more monitors to my setup, this is definitely the route I’m going to take. You have no idea how difficult it is to mount monitors side-by-side on the wall. I’ll let you in on a small secret: it’s a huge pain in the ass.
This monitor mount will be available sometime in Q1 of this year. Unfortunately there is no word on pricing.
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