sunny screens

with the recent introduction of consumer electronics targeted to the developing world, a considerable amount of innovation has gone into making low-cost displays that work in sunlight and consume less energy. i spotted these two prototypes at SIGGRAPH today: the dual-mode reflective/emissive LCD in OLPC’s XO hundred-dollar laptop (above) and electronic ink in motorola’s F3 cell phone (below). these are not just great for the developing world: screens that reflect ambient light mean we can work in brighter offices and homes, alongside printed matter and while consuming less energy. maybe one day the light absorbed by our devices will be enough to power them, too.