Pixel Qi is on the cusp of shipping its triple-mode LCD screens as straight, swap-in replacements for your existing laptop screen.
The Pixel Qi display works three ways, saving power and making it readable in any light. Transmissive mode is the one you are likely looking at now, a backlit LED panel which uses power for both the light and the pixels blocking and coloring that light. Next up is the reflective mode, which switches off the backlight and flips the colored pixels to grayscale. This looks a lot like hi-res e-ink displays, but it still uses some power to refresh the screen. It does drain the battery slower than the transmissive mode, though.
Lastly is the hybrid transflective mode, which keeps the full color display, but let the mirror at the back of the screen use sunlight as the backlight. This means you can work outdoors but still see a pretty good image.
Which is fine, but you probably wouldn't buy a Pixel Qi notebook except for niche cases. With the DIY kits, though, you'll be able to fit one of these magical screens to your own laptop. Better, it's easy. Mary-Lou Jepson of Pixel Qi:
This is the kind of mod that could make netbooks useful at last. Or maybe I'm being too optimistic. The kits will be out in the second quarter of this year, just in time for some fun when you get bored of your iPad.
DIY Pixel Qi Kits [Pixel Qi blog]
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