In another thread we are passing back and forth ideas about a next generation instrument display ... this new thread is intended to focus just on the DISPLAY SCREEN ELEMENT itself.
THERE MUST BE A DISPLAY ELEMENT out there that can be incorporated into marine electronics instrument displays that would provide wide angle viewing, low power consumption (important to sailors), high contrast, day and night view ability, and stand up well to an outdoor environment, and not damaged by direct sunlight !
What existing non marine product (e.g. mobile, home, work, industry controls, military, etc.) do you know of, that would be a perfect display element you would recommend to your favorite marine electronics vendor to use in their next version of a speed, wind, depth or multipurpose ST70 like display product ?
Please post both color and non-color examples, how much that total item costs (wouldn't it be embarrassing if the perfect display is already on a 10 year old $50 consumer item from radio shack !!) . If you happen to know the cost of the display element, write that here too ...
I doubt this screen even needs to be square. A rotating screen ala early Apple full page screens would be nice, as it could be rotated from landscape to portrait mode for different applications, such as a chart, some text messages, or a longish list.
Further, I don't see the need for a photographic color palette; 4 colors aren't enough, but 16 would be. A 640 x 480 pixel count should more than suffice for a 5" display. For some reason, I keep coming back to the incredible display garmin is using on the gpsmap 545.
Perhaps all that is needed is N2K or network capability in the 640. For $500 of course. And a little motor so that it can come back to you if it falls overboard.
Maybe this will be the perfect display element. Something that is similiar to electronic ink in a Kindle that only uses power when updating, but different in that:
1. Full color
2. Image appears brighter as sunlight increases.
3. It can change rapidly, up to and including full motion video.
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interferometric_modulator_display
MSNBC:
Mirasol displays: Mirros reflect light. The mirrors consume power only when they're moving, so mirasol screens can show a static image with very little battery drain. They share this ability with "electronic ink" displays used in e-book reader devices like the Kindle from Amazon.com. However, unlike e-ink displays, mirasol displays can quickly change from one image to the next and show video.
Factories are going on line now that can produce displays upto 5 inches in size, primarily aimed at providing cell phones with displays that consume much less battery power.
We make primarily LED displays to customer specification. These displays have been used in the marine environment, can be highly ruggedised, seen in bright sun light, viewable from any angle, interfaced to any system and of course highly energy efficient being LED. Please feel free to contact us with any design ideas