Pixel Qi says it has a tablet screen as good as iPad' Retina but uses far less power

(Phys.org) -- In a post on the company blog, Mary Lou Jepsen, founder and head of Pixel Qi, boasts that her company has developed a tablet screen with a resolution that is equal to the Retina display on the new iPad but achieves it using far less battery power. She claims that the screen also has more color saturation, better viewing angles and better contrast.

Little known privately held Pixel Qi (pronounced as Pixel Chi) is based in San Bruno California, and makes Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) for laptops, tablets and other devices that have the unique ability to use direct sunlight to help brighten the screen when used outdoors. Called transflective, such devices actually use less power outdoors, compared to iPads, which use more.

Jepson says the motivation for creating a device equal in quality to the iPad but much less power hungry came from reports that the new iPad overheats as it draws up to eight watts of power at peak consumption, a figure that she says “shocked” her.

Thus far in its short history, Pixel Qi hasn’t made much of a dent in the consumer market; its screens appear in only about a dozen little known products, such as the ARM based Adam tablet. This new development is likely to change that, if the claims made by Jepson turn out to be true, of course.

Jepson includes a chart on the blog post, showing power consumption of tablets with Pixel Qi screens compared to both the old and new iPad. And of course, the Pixel Qi screens beat the iPad by a very wide margin. Unfortunately, most of the chart is based on estimates, and thus far, no one, including Jepson, has offered any proof of the claims made.

Jepson says the Pixel Qi screen also has a power save mode that is a 100x reduction in power from peak power on the iPad. She adds that she’s not trying to knock Apple or its popular tablet, but would like the world to know that there is a better option available.

Also missing from the blog post is pricing for the new screen, though Jepson says the company is currently in negations with prospective partners that will apparently use the new screen in their device. If that turns out to be true, then it shouldn’t be long before everyone else will be able to verify what Jepson is claiming, and if that happens, perhaps then even Apple will come knocking.