One Laptop Per Child Designer Unveils Low-Cost, High-Resolution ScreenOne Laptop Per Child Designer Unveils Low-Cost, High-Resolution Screen

After designing the laptop for the One Laptop Per Child project, the project's CTO, Mary Lou Jepson, announced she would improve on the groundbreaking design with her Pixel Qi for-profit company.

Recently, Jepson posted a picture of her new low-cost, low-power screens on Pixel Qi's Web site. With the backlight on, the 10.1-inch diagonal screen is depicted in full color, while in e-paper mode with the backlight off, the screen is shown in black and white.

Jepson, who worked on display technology at Intel before becoming the designer of the OLPC computer, believes that the secret to coming generations of netbooks and PDAs is the screen, rather than the processor or the operating system. She notes that processors now cost $10 and operating systems are very inexpensive.

"The display is the most expensive component in a modern laptop and the most power hungry, and it's uncomfortable to read when compared with paper," she says on her Pixel Qi site. "We aim to fix this -- our team already took the first step with the OLPC screen. The battery is the second most expensive component in the laptop or portable. We propose to massively lower the power consumption of the screen and thus also slash the cost of the battery and dramatically boost how long your machine can run on it before you have [to] re-charge it."

Jepson said production is scheduled to begin this summer and the screens will begin appearing this fall in netbooks and e-book readers.

Another secret to Jepson's approach is her plan to use existing manufacturing facilities and techniques utilized by the silicon integrated circuit industry. Pixel Qi screens use existing LCD manufacturing processes and existing materials, already available at "excellent pricing, quality, and reliability," she said.

For skeptics who question her ability to deliver on her claims, Jepson refers the doubters to her success with the OLPC screen, which moved from specification to mass-production ready in just six months. The OLPC laptop hasn't met its early goal of $100 in production costs, but the cost is well below $200 -- still impressive. Moreover, the machine can be read in direct sunlight and consumes little power, while being rugged enough to withstand five-foot drops by rambunctious children.

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