Buying a PDA-4: Display

The displays on PDAs are LCDs (liquid crystal displays) like those on digital cameras and notebook computers. Today most models come with colour screens so the factors which differentiate displays are screen resolution and colour quality.

Of the two, resolution is probably the more important. Low end models like the VR3 come with a resolution of around 160X240; mid-end models like the Palm Tungsten T3 come with 320X480 while high end models like the Toshiba e800 are now coming out with resolutions of 640X480.

The colour quality depends on a number of factors but one quick measure is the number of colours the screen is capable of displaying. Ideally you would want 65,000 colours or more for a decent display.

If you intend to use your PDA outdoors a lot, make sure the screen is visible in bright light. It’s always useful to have backlighting as well as external controls for contrast and brightness.

Remember that colour displays eat up a lot of power so if you intend to use graphic-intensive features like video and gaming make sure you have adequate batteries. Also remember that such applications require a decent processor and adequate memory.

Next post: Data input

Technorati Tags
PDA | Palm | Toshiba