E Ink is an efficient shout for studying textual content on a small display screen for lengthy durations, however if you wish to work on bigger shows with shifting imagery, applied sciences like LCD and OLED are a greater strategy to go. Taiwan’s Hannspree is aiming for the center floor.
Although E Ink is kinder on the previous peepers than different digital panels, it is not significantly good at dealing with non-static visuals. We have seen a couple of system producers managing to spice up refresh charges on ePaper devices – together with Super Refresh from Onyx Boox and God-Level High Refresh from Dasung – however different show applied sciences nonetheless are likely to have the sting.
Modus Tech launched a 60-Hz Paper Monitor on Crowd Supply late final 12 months, and Dasung has a equally refreshing mannequin within the wind too. However Hannspree has opted for a hybrid strategy that makes use of Transflective LCD expertise.
Because the identify suggests, this answer provides customers the selection of a reflective paper-like show – the place the onscreen readability and brightness are decided by ambient gentle – or a transmissive type of deal – the place LED backlighting will be activated on the contact of a button. Hannspree recommends activation of the backlight if “workspace illuminance drops beneath 1,000 lux.”
Like final 12 months’s HannsNote2, this implies the viewer can take pleasure in 16.7 million colours relatively than simply the few thousand provided by present E Ink. The Hybri additionally boasts a peak refresh fee of 75 Hz – which must be nice for catching up on YouTube regulars regardless of the time of day. The 23.8-inch monitor additionally has a 5-millisecond response time for “light-weight PC gaming,” and shows content material at 1,920 x 1,080 pixels.
Elsewhere, the corporate reckons that, with the backlight disabled, the Hybri sips as much as 80% much less energy than an everyday LCD panel. The monitor can be utilized in panorama or portrait modes, and comes with HDMI, DisplayPort and VGA connectivity plus there’s an audio enter for making use of its built-in audio system (a headphone jack is included too).
As I spend a lot of my waking hours gawping at a backlit laptop display screen, this all looks as if welcome information for my fatigued eyes. Nonetheless, it does are available in at a a lot increased price ticket than similar-sized common displays. The Hybri is up for pre-order now for round US$900, although we have no phrase as but on worldwide availability.
Product web page: Hannspree Hybri Monitor