Pixel Qi has gotten a lot of attention lately for its display which combines some of the best elements of a E Ink and full color displays. Indoors, you can use the screen in full color mode and you’d have a hard time telling it apart from any other display. Outdoors, you can shut off the backlight, reduce the screen’s power consumption by about 500 percent, and easily see the screen in direct sunlight.

But Pixel Qi isn’t the only company working on this sort of technology. Netbook News spotted a transflective display from CPT that promises similar functionality. The company is demonstrating a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display with wide viewing angles that works with the backlight off.

The CPT screen doesn’t seem to be quite as energy efficient as Pixel Qi’s solution. Instead of drawing 5 times less power with the backlight off, it cuts energy consumption by 50 percent. That ain’t bad, but it could certainly be better.

Nicole Scott from Netbook News suggests that text doesn’t look quite as sharp with the backlight off.

Transflective displays aren’t entirely new. If I remember correctly, a number of early Windows Mobile and Palm PDAs used similar technology nearly 10 years ago. But it should be interesting to see how CPT’s solution scales to netbooks or tablets.

You can check out Nicole’s hands-on video after the break.

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7 replies on “CPT transflective display could give Pixel Qi a run for its money”

  1. Trans reflective LCD are the first kind that have been marketed. It’s old moon. I have calculator that is more than 20 years old with a trans reflective LCD display.

  2. I hate to say this but I’m beginning to get the feeling that Pixel Qi will be toast, eliminated from the consciences of all potential buyers — except perhaps for only the most diehard former OLPC fans, and forgotten about soon.

    Thank you CPT for showcasing a real product!

    And, if their public relations is any indicator, Pixel Qi suffers from the same inconsistent drivel that was the disaster OLPC. They will fail. Their product will not be released in time (in any device), their promises will be exposed as lies, and the company will fail flat on even the most basic level to make a dint in the competition or to provide customer support.

    This is clear to me now as the company Pixel Qi seems to have forgotten the original and simple concept of a genuine laptop (or netbook) with a sunlight readable screen that increases battery. Clearly, the company has moved away from such a goal because they CAN’T meet it!

    So how does a Pixel Qi screen compare to an LED backlit LCD in energy?

    As they have abandoned battery life, affordability, and will fail to outdo an Asus 1005PE or even an iPad in longevity then — what is the reason to purchase their product? I say vaporware….

    RIP Pixel Qi…. We will miss you! And I will pass now…. You guys have hurt me too much.

    Because I see almost no reason to purchase an expensive glossy tablet with Pixel Qi’s screen (such as Adam Ink, etc.) over the rest of the competition that will be available when the vapor product finally arrives in some estranged form.

    I will stick with a regular and upcoming Windows 7 tablet (and, perhaps, purchase a less expensive Linux one as well). You diehard fans can have your glossy and reflective Notion Adam Ink Pixel Qi.

    Oh! And….

    Good luck trying to save a few milliwatt hours of electricity reading the Notion Adam Ink in broad sunlight — savor the technology as the glossy touchscreen reflects the sun’s UV radiation directly into your unsuspecting eyes while you read. The extra hour of battery life in the sun will be good for your skin and your eyes and you will get cancer!

    For the love of God….

    What happened to the basic and affordable Pixel Qi netbook with 20 hour battery?

    Pixel Qi = schizophrenia

    Rest in Peace

    1. Sigh… morons really annoy me. The Adam has a MATTE screen. Glossy versions shown in early vids were demo units. Also, the Pixel Qi screen variants of the Adam were the first to sell out (in just hours) and people are begging daily on the blog to know when they’ll be back in stock so they can pre-order.

      You really look foolish when you rant about something that’s incorrect. I feel a bit embarrassed for you.

  3. Transflective LCD was on M.L. Jeppson’s chart from last year (https://pixelqi.com/blog1/2009/08/26/comparing-t…).Big differences between transflective LCD and Pixel Qi:* Transflective LCD is still in color while reflecting* Transflective LCD has much lower reflectivity (i.e. useful for outdoor use, but not at office lighting levels)I think, though I don’t know how fundamental it is, transflective LCD has poorer contrast ratio than Pixel Qi (in reflective mode).I used a Dell Axim X50v, which has a transflective LCD, to read ebooks at the beach last year.

      1. I just noticed that all the Flip HD digital camcorders use transflective LCD. I wouldn’t be surprised if many digital camera used transflective for its indoor/outdoor capability.

  4. looks like there is a spot light on it, and kind of yellow. How did it look in real life? The pixel qi stuff looks a lot whiter and doesn’t seem to need a spot light to see it in the backlight-off mode.

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