Skip to main content

Pixel Qi Shows First 3Qi Hybrid Display

Pixel Qi Shows First 3Qi Hybrid Display

Startup display developer Pixel Qi—which spun out of the OLPC project has posted the first images of its upcoming 3Qi display, which combines a black-and-white mode, full-color mode, and an epaper mode intended for ebook readers. The image shows two 3Qi screens side-by-side, one using its epaper mode with no backlighting, and the other showing a full color image with its backlight on. Pixel Qi founder Mary Lou Jepson has also posted an image of the display outside in full sunlight, although the test unit’s metal bezel and quality of the iPhone photo make it difficult to evaluate the display’s quality, it’s certainly readable.

Pixel Qi says the 3Qi displays will be available this fall for netbooks and ebook readers in 10.1-inch diagonal screen sizes.

Recommended Videos

The 3Qi display isn’t targeting future OLPC devices, although Pixel Qi says it is continuing to work with the OLPC project on future designs. Mary Lou Jepson has also extolled both touch and multitouch technologies as key to the future of display, although for now Pixel Qi is focusing on pulling low-cost, sunlight-readable displays into products aimed at developing markets.

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
MacBook Pro 16 vs. MacBook Pro 14: here’s which M4 you should buy
The MacBook Pro 16-inch on a table.

MacBook Pros are some of the best laptops money can buy. With the M4 chip now onboard, these laptops have never been so powerful, and the update brings some interesting upgrades, such as the improved 12-megapixel webcam and brighter screen. They're the best MacBooks that have ever been made, and it's a perfect time to pick one up based on upgrade timing.

But just because the entire MacBook Pro lineup is better now, that doesn't mean it's any easier to choose between the two size options that are available. Despite the fact that they include many of the same features, the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro feel like entirely different systems due to their contrast in size.

Read more
The brain-computer interface revolution is just getting started
tech for change brain computer interface who its bxcxfghw

Whether it's jacking into the Matrix or becoming a Na'avi in Avatar, connecting brains to computers is a science-fiction trope that I never thought I'd see become a reality. But increasingly, BCIs (brain-computer interfaces) have become a serious area of study in research labs, rapidly advancing from research labs to real human trials -- perhaps most famously by the Elon Musk's company Neuralink.

While this promises individuals with disabilities a greater degree of freedom and control, along with potential applications in gaming and health care, significant technical, ethical, and regulatory challenges remain. But the more I dug into the topic, the more I found leaders and researchers rising to the occasion to lead us responsibly into the future of the this groundbreaking technology.
What is a brain-computer interface?
Alvin Lucier: Music for Solo Performer (1965)

Read more
Cable labeling is pure chaos and it needs to stop
A selection of three USB-C cables being held in a hand.

There was a time in our digital lives when reaching for a cable was a straightforward affair. If we needed to connect a CD player to our amplifier, an optical cable was the right tool for the job. If we bought a new printer, a USB-A to USB-B cable of the right length would almost certainly guarantee success. Even in the early days of the HDMI cable revolution, connecting a Blu-ray player to a TV was a simple matter of finding the most affordable cable we could -- in the mid-2000s, I bought several $5 HDMI cables from Monoprice and they all worked just fine.

But the age of easy connectivity is now behind us, and every year it seems to get worse. As our devices become more capable, they place an increasing set of demands on the cables that connect them. And some of our existing cables -- and many we might buy in-store or online -- can’t meet those demands.

Read more