14 DAY TRIAL // Over the past several months, hardware makers have unleashed a significant number of display solutions, each described as having a certain advantage, or more, over all competitors. Every newcomer had a certain asset in terms of image quality, brightness or power efficiency. However, none of them can be said to have achieved a low enough power consumption as not to require a power plug. Truthfully, this dream may still be a long time coming, but Samsung appears to have gotten quite close to it.
As curious as it may sound, the manufacturer managed to create a USB 2.0-connected monitor that functions on just the current delivered by the connection itself. To be more precise, it requires only 6.3W of power. This is quite noteworthy, especially considering that the product is not just some undersized, color-impaired screen. In fact, it is equipped with a TN panel, LED edge lights and a native resolution of 1,366 x 768. The brightness itself is also decent, at 250 cd/m2, as is the 1,000:1 contrast ratio.
The low power consumption was possible because Samsung improved the panel's transmittance (now at 7%) and the backlight's luminance efficiency. This did not come without a drawback, though. While the edge-placed LEDs are more efficient, they are less enduring than standard ones (lifetime of 30,000 hours instead of 50,000). Furthermore, there is no hint as to just how responsive the USB 2.0 interface allows the device to be. Finally, the company refused to comment or offer any details on what technologies were actually taken advantage of in this endeavor.
This USB-powered monitor was shown off at SID 2010, but it seems to have also made its way to the Computex 2010 expo in Taipei, Taiwan. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing when, if ever, a product such as this will enter mass production.