It’s been some months since we last heard of a new product that used Pixel Qi’s unique screen, and today I have some good news for you.
Mike Cane turned up the product pages this morning for a company called Sol Computers. They appear to be a small company, and they have just the 2 products listed on their website: a netbook and tablet, both with a Pixel Qi screen and both running Windows 7.
Update: For those who don’t know, Pixel Qi have developed a 1 of a kind low-power color screen that at first glance looks to be an LCD screen. It’s still rather expensive, but it can do something LCD screens cannot. You can read it outside, in full sunlight. You can see this ability in the video at the end of the post.
The tablet has the 10″ Pixel Qi screen, and it’s selling for $1100. The specs are rather unremarkable; in fact, most premium Android tablets have better specs (but not this screen).
- Intel Atom 1.66GHz CPU
- Windows 7
- 1GB RAM (supports up to 2GB)
- graphics chip
- 10.1″ Backlit Pixel Qi (1024×576)
- 2 USB port
- LAN: 10/1000Mbps ethernet
- Wifi or 3G
- g-sensor: detects screen rotation and orientation
- 1.3MP camera
- Weight: 1.98 lbs.
- Dimensions: 10.6”w x 6.9”d x 0.5”h
The netbook is selling for considerably less ($750), but the specs are similarly unremarkable. It also boasts 10 hours of battery life, which isn’t all that amazing anymore. There are $400 netbooks with more battery life than that.
- Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU
- 250GB HD
- 3 USB ports
- Windows 7
- 2GB RAM
- SDHC card slot
- Ethernet
- Wifi (n)
- webcam
- Dimensions: 10.4”w x 7.4”d x 1.4”h ]
- Weight: 2.71 lbs.
The problem with most products using the Pixel Qi screen, IMO, is that they are the wrong products. This screen needs to go on a high end laptop where the buyer won’t notice the price. A netbook with a $250 screen built in is still a netbook and the base specs do not justify the price. But if you add this screen to a multi-core, heavy duty laptop convertible, the read outside ability will still be appreciated and the price penalty won’t be quite so noticeable.
BTW, all the screen adds is the ability to read outside; it doesn’t even boost the battery life all that much. There are any number of netbooks now that have more than 10 hours battery life and cost under $400.
But why a laptop convertible? Simple. That design already has a price premium because of the hardware design, parts cost, and small niche. Anyone who buys one isn’t as price conscious as the average netbook buyer and would likely value the ability to take the tablet outside.
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Sol Computer launches sunlight readable netbook, tablet with Pixel Qi screen - Liliputing // Sep 9, 2011 at 12:04 pm
[...] The Digital Reader If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or "like" [...]
Even on the tablet, switching out the Atom for a Core ULV and a couple ounces more battery wouldn’t add much cost but it would put performance out of the reach of anything ARM-based.
Tablet e netbook con Pixel Qi. Da 750 dollari - Netbook News // Sep 12, 2011 at 4:51 am
[...] abbiamo Windows 7, 3 USB, 2GB di RAM, WiFi N, un card reader SD/SDHC e poco altro.Come fa notare the digital reader, il problema dei prodotti Sol Computer non è tanto il loro costo, quando proprio la presenza dei [...]
3M Invested in Pixel Qi - The Digital Reader // Sep 12, 2011 at 11:09 am
[...] low power screen.There are any number of uses for this screen tech and they extend far beyond netbooks, tablets, and [...]
ZTE Light Tab 2 Coming in March – Pixel Qi! - The Digital Reader // Jan 12, 2012 at 6:32 pm
[...] Pixel Qi is one of the spinoffs of the OLPC project. It was originally developed by a team led by Mary Lou Jepsen, and their goal was to offer a low power screen that could be used in all sorts of lighting conditions. A few years ago she left OLPC to commercialize the screen tech, and ever since then it has been inching closer to the market. A number of models hit the market last year, including a Windows tablet and netbook from Sol Computer. [...]
Sol Computer to Release 3 Pixel Qi Tablets This Year - The Digital Reader // Jan 14, 2012 at 11:34 am
[...] a small start up who launched their first 2 Pixel Qi equipped products in September 2011 (Win7 tablet and netbook). At the time I liked the idea, but I wanted to see a larger version of this screen on a more [...]
EviGroup to Launch 7″ Pixel Qi Tablet - The Digital Reader // Feb 29, 2012 at 9:04 pm
[...] · No Comments · hardware newsclick to enlargeIt looks like Sol Computer’s 10″ Pixel Qi tablet is getting a little competition. Take a gander at this baby.EviGroup, a little known French [...]
Joyplus M10PQ 10″ Pixel Qi Tablet Unveiled at CeBit - The Digital Reader // Mar 6, 2012 at 8:26 pm
[...] Flash storage, Wifi, microSD card slot, SIM card slot, and otherwise unremarkable specs. Unlike the Pixel Qi tablets sold by Sol Computers, the M10PQ is running Android 2.3 Gingerbread.There’s no mention of price or release date, [...]
So I Have a Pixel Qi Netbook… - The Digital Reader // Apr 24, 2012 at 1:30 pm
[...] $750, which means the screen+installation cost $500.See, this is why I think these screens have a better chance on high end laptops. 2/3 the cost of my netbook went to the screen, while on a laptop which cost $1,500 or the ratio [...]