Smart Displays are really cool...

Every trade show has its share of oohs and ahs when you see the technology, but this year's Comdex hasn't really done anything for me yet, until I saw some of the Microsoft Smart Display technology on display (pardon the pun).

Different from the Tablet PC (also being shown at Comdex), a Smart Display is more like a "wireless monitor" for your computer. Instead of having all of the processing power on your lap like a tablet, you just carry around the display and all of the processing power stays at your computer.

ViewSonic said it will begin shipping two airPanel devices (one has a 15-inch display for $1,299, the other a 10.4-inch display for $999) in January 2003. Another manufacturer, Philips, said it expects to have Smart Displays in the first quarter of 2003.

Now if I can just scrape together a spare $999 for the device. There's always the blackjack tables...

You've gotta be kidding me. 999 for a 10.4 inch panel with no processing power?? i just bought a full laptop with 13.3 inch screen, builtin wireless, 60 gig drive and dvd drive for 950 bucks. how does a "smart" monitor sell in a market where it costs more than a real computer that has more capability?

I had the opportunity to get my hands on these guys at COMDEX. They're cool little buggers - I especially like the little 8" TriGem device, though they had it behind plexi so I couldn't pick it up.

These WOULD be cool if they were about $500 instead of $1000 which I'm sure they could be because they are basically so simple. And you need to remember that being much simpler will make them lightweight with longer battery life which is just what you want when away from your desk. No so much a bad idea as a bad price! And that should cure itself in time.

Im Bobby from the Philippines, i think that smart display are for the impracticals. that aint cool when you purchased it for a thousand bucks.

I love the smart display, if Bill Gates, give it for free, man, its to high for a boob tube. Im not gonna waste my money for that. Im too masadot for that.

I'm looking forward to getting one whatever the cost. I'm always interested in checking things when I'm at the opposite end of the house than my computer. Also I can let my wife use it and keep her away from the actual machine which in in my home office.

You have to realize some drawbacks: You can't play 3D games on it because remote connection does not support Direct3D, high-quality video shows up very slow (no watching DVDs on it), and basically when someone's using the computer through the smart display, the real computer is unusable - logging in would log out the smart display.

Sound cool for $1000 bucks? Not to me.

Soothsayers spare me! Your arrogance about how much you think you know, coupled with your lack of foresight and fear of change, only culminates in true ignorance. If it were up to you we’d all still be using DOS and mice would be banned.

Wake up! Intelligence and technical proficiency isn’t a measure of how well you can degrade the ideas of others. Instead of trying to convince others and yourselves of your own superiority by disparaging all ideas (especially from Gates or Microsoft) not thought of first by you, try looking for how YOU would expand on the ideas of others. This isn’t just a monitor. It’s a touch screen wireless device. It makes sense it will cost a little more. And have you forgotten the rules of hardware manufacturing? Mass production will bring down the cost, probably by 50% or more.

I think this IS one of the next logical steps for computers. Keep it light (both in weight and power consumption) so that it’s truly portable, and get rid of the wires. Personally I like the computer in the front room with me. The more accessible (portable) we make our desktop, the more we will integrate it into our lives. Not sure what you envision, but I see integrated PDAs, cell phones, TVs (cable, SAT, DVD) remote access, home security, ETC., all accessible via the little Smart Display sitting quietly on the end-table just waiting for someone to pick it up, check their email, watch the news, and maybe catch a move. Might I suggest George Orwell’s 1984?

I understand the benefits of the technology behind these Smart Displays and like many others I think that they are great. However, for that kind of price I might as well have the Tablet PC with all of its nifty features. If you compare those prices, the Tablet PC would cost $1000 dollars for the monitor(since the Smart Display isn't offering anything more than the Tablet monitor) and only $600+ for the full featured, high powered laptop. Not to mention, the Tablet PC edition OS offers special features using the "smart pens" rather than the "dumb stylus". $600 isn't bad for a new laptop. :)

I think the idea is amazing, and has merit. In a few years, I hope to see similar technology have better functionality (ie play dvds and 3d games on it) and a better price. Granted the tv is a different technology, but old fashioned tv recieves its data wirelessly. It shouldn't be too long before they can get these smart displays to handle the higher bandwidths of data. I am a digital artist, so what I would like to see is one that is larger, and has a stylus with pressure sensativity for drawing in programs like photoshop and painter. I would love to be able to do my art, but not be chained to my computer desk to do it.

You must be kidding. This thing isn't practical.
I have a WiFi LinkSys wireless connection and the signal won't even reach my laptop downstairs only 40 Ft. from the transmitter located upstairs in my 2 story house.

Way to much money. But great idea. I want a wireless screen that allows me to read and browse from the comfort of a good chair in the living room. I get most of my news and analysis from web but don't particulary enjoy sitting at a computer all night. This screen must come in at less than $500.

It won't be long before smart screens are as portable as mobile phones. Maybe then, in addition to web-space, we can get 10GB of web-processor from our ISPs too. Is this the begining of the end of the PC?

OK, I was so amazed by the store display, I had to buy one. I bought the smaller, 10-inch ViewSonic. Personally, I can't consider lugging a 15-inch monitor around as convenient--even if it is flat. After 48 hours, I'm not yet sure if I'm going to keep it. This is a great concept that isn't quite mature yet. Its greatest limitations are (a) reliance on XP's Remote Desktop services limits access to one user and (b) most software isn't well designed for simple tapping (e.g., right clicks, scrolling, and data entry are difficult). I'd love to use the pad to read eBooks, but you can't rotate the display (like you can on a Tablet PC); plus, it lacks simple navigation features (like scrolling) that have become standard on most mouse devices. I'd love to use the pad to operate my home theater, but I can't simultaneously show the computer's DVD output on my primary plasma display. As a PocketPC user, I'm also significantly disappointed that the handwriting model differs significantly. I can't use any of the editing strokes I know from Transcriber, and we're back to writing within the confines of a recognition window--we evolved past that years ago with the Pocket PC. Hopefully, firmware, OS, and software upgrades will address most of these issues in the near future.

As for the price, 1K is hefty, but the ViewSonic comes with an upgrade copy of Windows XP Professional (which is necessary to connect to your desktop PC) and a wireless access point, so you're getting about $300 of freebies. The real rip-off is paying $150 for a monitor stand that should just be included with the monitor itself.

It's good to see this technology into the marketplace, but we'll certainly need a few improvements before this becomes a widely used technology.

1) Multiple-user capability in Windows. A terminal server-like capability that would allow a person to use the desktop PC while someone in the kitchen surfs the web on the SmartDisplay.

2) Higher wireless bandwidth. If 802.11a, a higher speed (50-60mbps compared to 802.11b's 11mbps), becomes standard, you'd be able to watch DVD's and play games on the device, which would bring it to a fuller capability. Better range would be nice, too. My home wireless environment stretches for about 25 feet at best. The 100 feet they talk about might work in an open field, but they need to be more realistic.

3) A more reasonable price. This will come over time, as demand rises to a higher level and production increases. However, if the aforementioned developments take place, $1000 or $1200 isn't much to ask for what is essentially a really cool second PC.

These devices certainly have the potential for being excellent solutions to certain problems in certain situations. I can see them as having great value in healthcare organizations.

And as far as I'm concerned, all of these people complaining about the price are a bunch of (expletive deleted) idiots. So what if it costs $1000 or $1500 or even $15,000. It wasn't all that many years ago that DVD writers cost $5000 and the only one available was from Pioneer. Now there are all sorts of them and almost all go for no more than $500. Computer equipment always comes down in price. As for all the other complaints, same principle. As the technology is around for awhile, improvements get made, features get added. For those that are religious, remember, even God took seven days to make the world; it wasn't done the first second.

The truth of the matter is that you're never going to 100% please 100% of the people 100% of the time. There are always going to be people around that are going to (expletive deleted) about something.

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