Silicon Micro Display rolls out $799 ST1080 wearable display

It may still be some time before you can take Google's ambitious wearable computing project for a spin, but there's certainly no shortage of head-mounted displays out there for those looking to blaze a trail of their own. You can now add Silicon Micro Display's new ST1080 glasses to that list, a full 1080p display that will handle both 2D and 3D content (in a variety of formats), and also allow you to see through the glasses for augmented reality applications (albeit with just 10 percent transparency). As with most such glasses, however, you won't get head-tracking capabilities, and you'll have a couple of tethers to contend with (HDMI for video and USB for power, including via an optional battery pack). Those not put off by those constraints or the whole visor look can place their order now for $799.

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Under the microscope: Samsung Galaxy S III's HD Super AMOLED display

By now you should already know that the brand-spanking-new Samsung Galaxy S III sports a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display. That's right: no "plus" here, which means this 720p panel is featuring the same old PenTile RBGB pixel arrangement -- just like the 4.65-inch version on the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II HD LTE. Needless to say, this is again pure ammunition for the folks over at LG; but as we've mentioned before, HD Super AMOLED's superb contrast and higher-than-before pixel density outweigh its shortcomings in most cases.

For now though, let's examine these sub-pixels with a 230x zoom USB microscope and compare them with other phones that we have in hand. Starting off with the HTC One X's 720p SLCD 2 above, you can see how its denser sub-pixels produce a finer picture, but ultimately it's still behind HD Super AMOLED when it comes to contrast, especially with black. Read on for more comparisons.

Next up we take a look at the Galaxy Nexus. While the two share very similar contours and side profiles, the older phone has a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display, while its new cousin has a 4.8-inch panel sporting the same technology. Naturally, the pixel density is slightly lower for the latter (as you can see above), but we barely noticed any difference with our own eyes during our quick hands-on. Judging by the microscopic pictures above though, it does look like Samsung's made the red sub-pixels slightly smaller, so we shall perform some more comparison tests when we review the Galaxy S III.

And finally, we put the Galaxy S III up against its main siblings from over the last two years: Galaxy S (4-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED), Galaxy S II (4.3-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED Plus) and Galaxy S II LTE (4.5-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED Plus). It's rather interesting to see PenTile floating in and out of each generation, but we sure hope an HD Super AMOLED Plus phone will materialize before the "Galaxy S IV" next year.

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Perceptive Pixel shows world's largest projected capacitive display at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video)

By Darren Murph posted Aug 9th 2011 8:06PM Perceptive Pixel wasn't kidding around when it launched the planet's biggest projected capacitive display here at SIGGRAPH -- all 82 inches of it were here on display, and naturally, we stopped by to give it a look. While 82-inch panels aren't anything new, this one's particularly special. You see, the company actually procures the panels from Samsung, and then it rips the guts out while bonding its own network of sensors directly to it; most large-screen touch devices simply pop a touch layer on top of whatever TV shows up in the labs, but this integrated approach takes sensitivity to a whole 'nother level. For those unfamiliar with the term 'projected capacitive,' we're surmising that it's actually far less foreign than you think -- it's a technology used in a handful of smartphones, from Samsung's Moment to Apple's iPhone. 3M was also showing off a PC tech preview back at CES, and after using it here on the show floor, there's no question that it's the future for larger-screen devices. To quote CEO Jeff Han: "once consumers get a taste of this on the mobile front, they start demanding it elsewhere."


True enough, but the 27-inch and 82-inch pro-cap displays shown here are far from consumer-oriented. Priced at $12,000 and $120,000 (respectively) with a workstation and software included, you probably won't be considering either for your looming man cave. But according to the company, the 82-incher is already proving to be a hot commodity; it's scheduled to go on sale to pre-orderers next month, and every single one it can make has already been claimed. A wider release is targeted for Q4, and while the company wouldn't divulge any details on who's buying, we're guessing it's CNN and the like -- don't be shocked to see these very panels used in the 2012 election coverage. The kicker here is the truly unlimited acceptance of touch points; toss all the digits you want on the panel, and it'll calculate the exact point and movement associated with 'em. We've toyed with plenty of alternatives before, and it's safe to say that Pixel Perspective has the slickest, most responsive iteration that we've seen to date. Moreover, the outfit took the opportunity today to speak of its homegrown stylus; it's an in-house solution that'll only work on its panels, but it's designed to help artists who'd like to manipulate an object with one hand while doodling with the other. We're told to expect more UI announcements on that front in the coming months, but the precision we witnessed here is already worth drooling about.

Finally, Jeff affirmed that the consumer landscape is "most definitely" on his radar, and just as soon as this technology becomes affordable enough for the mainstream, it'll be headed your way. Where? That's a topic he wouldn't broach quite yet, but all-in-one touch PCs and interactive televisions don't seem all that far-fetched. Come to think about, neither does an 82-inch selection board for your impending Fantasty Football draft.

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