Portable Displays for Wireless PC Work

Nov. 15, 2002 -- In the age of computers, many people have turned from "couch potatoes" to "mouse potatoes."

Instead of vegetating around the living room TV, many addicts of the interactive digital box are now spending their home time huddled in front of the PC in their den or study room surfing the Web, paying bills, or playing games.

But Microsoft and computer hardware makers are developing a new class of devices that could let mouse potatoes spend more time outside of the home computer room — without leaving the PC behind.

At the annual Comdex trade show to be held in Las Vegas next week, Microsoft and computer display makers will show off so-called "smart displays."

Outwardly, they are similar to the flat-panel LCD devices that are becoming popular among PC users as thin and lightweight alternatives to traditional glass-screened computer monitors. But the key difference with these new display units is buried inside.

The Magic of 'Mira'

At the heart of these new lightweight LCD displays is special software that Microsoft developed under the code-name "Mira." The program, now called Windows CE for Smart Displays, allows the displays to wirelessly communicate with any personal computer running the Windows XP Professional operating system.

How it works is fairly simple. The computer sends the data needed to create the icons and pictures for display using Wi-Fi, a wireless communication standard typically used to network different computers. The smart display picks up the data using a built-in Wi-Fi receiver and creates the images as needed.

The surface of the smart display is touch-sensitive, so a user can interact with the on-screen images by using a finger or an included stylus. Tapping on the screen would be equivalent to using an ordinary computer's mouse to start and stop computer programs and tasks. To type out an e-mail, the display can produce a virtual keyboard on its screen for users to tap on.

The smart display sends these input commands back to the PC for processing using the same Wi-Fi connection. The computer then wirelessly sends back the new view that needs to be produced as a result, just as if a physical cable connected the PC and smart display.

But since Wi-Fi transmissions have a range of several hundred feet, a smart display owner could use the device almost anywhere in the home while the PC remains stationary.

"If you think about home computing today, if you wanted to do anything on the PC, you were tied to that PC on the desktop," says Megan Kidd, a product manager with Microsoft. "Now, you can sit and watch TV while you surf the Web on the display in your lap. You can go outside and [still] check your e-mail."

Tablets vs. Displays

Smart displays shouldn't be confused with the recently introduced Tablet PCs, portable computers that are similar in appearance and offer similar "compute-anywhere" features.

"The big difference is that [Tablet PCs] are portable computers designed for road warriors who need a fully functional PC to go," says Kidd. "Smart displays are more of an evolution of the monitor."

She says the two digital devices are as different as a cordless home phone and a cell phone.

"A Tablet PC is like a cell phone in that you can take it out of the home and use it on the road," she says. "The smart display is more about extending the desktop PC you already have at home."

David Feldman, a senior product manager at display-maker Viewsonic in Walnut, Calif., says that smart displays might not be as capable as Tablet PCs. But they offer home consumers other advantages, such as cost.

"Tablet PCs start at around $1,995," says Feldman. "Wireless displays such as Viewsonic's Airpanel units start at around $999."

And since consumers would still be using the device as an add-on to their existing computer, they don't have to deal with managing different PCs.

"Multiple Tablet PCs means consumers will have lots of information stored on two or three different hard drives," says Feldman. "There are benefits to having all of your information on one PC but accessible from different displays throughout the home."

Will Consumers Buy?

Jed Kolko, a senior analyst with Forrester Research in Framingham, Mass., agrees that smart displays do make sense for certain applications in the home.

For example, he notes that a smart display would be an ideal way to get Internet access in the kitchen — a place where most PCs can't go because of limited space and hazardous grease.

Still, he notes that the stiff price tag for the first generation smart displays will make it a tough sell for many home consumers — especially in a tight economy.

"What the mainstream consumer wants — in terms of a PC — is lower cost," says Kolko. "You can buy a PC for under $500 without a monitor."

Display makers such as Viewsonic had initially planned to have smart displays ready in time for holiday shoppers. But Feldman says its two Airpanel models, a $999 10-inch display and a $1,299 15-inch unit, most likely won't be available until early next year.

Other computer companies, such as Fujistu, NEC, Philips Electronics and TriGem Computers, are also expected to make smart displays.

Analysts expect the various computer companies will announce their final plans for the new smart displays at next week's Comdex.