Pixel Qi – DIY Netbook Screen no comments
Posted at 10:12 pm in Color eReaders,Random
Writing in her Pixel Qi blog this morning, Mary Lou Jepsen 
announced the availability of the promised DIY Pixel Qi screen kit in a size to replace the 10.1-inch screen of a typical netbook.
Why would you want to replace the LCD screen of your netbook with one of these? Several reasons actually:
- Pixel Qi lets you switch between a transmissive mode (like traditional LCD displays) and a reflective mode (like electrophoretic displays used in ereaders).
- In reflective mode the Pixel Qi display is fully viewable outdoors in full sunlight – try that with your LCD netbook.
- The reflective mode is much easier on your eyes than a backlit screen when used for long-form reading – such as when reading ebooks, for example.
- When in reflective mode Pixel Qi displays consume 80 percent less power.
- Your Pixel Qi equipped netbook will be way cooler than all of your friends’ boring old LCD models.
And why wouldn’t you want to try this?
- While the installation itself is not difficult – “Changing the screen of your netbook is easy, the process takes about 5-10 minutes using a small screwdriver. It’s simple: 2-4 screws have to be removed to allow unsnapping of the front plastic bezel. Once that step is done, removal of another few screws allows the screen to be unlatched and its cable disconnected. Next, the Pixel Qi screen is plugged in, screwed in, and the bezel snapped back in place. That’s it.” – opening your netbook for this project will probably void the warranty.
- It’s pricy. The Pixel Qi screen will set you back $275. That is almost the price of a good netbook.
The DIY Pixel Qi display is currently being sold through Maker Shed. Though it is currently sold out, you can place a pre-order which is expected to ship next week. So far the screen has only been tested with the Samsung N130 and the Lenovo S10-2 netbooks, though I would think that it will work with most other models with the same screen size.
£149.00
£109
