You know the Pixel Qi screens that are one of the forthcoming “better-than-e-ink” display technologies? Gizmodo and the “What’s Happening at Pixel Qi” blog note that a DIY 10” screen replacement kit will be out in the second quarter of this year, bringing the ability to swap out your netbook’s 10” LCD screen for a transflective Pixel Qi model that can be read in direct sunlight.
Writes former OLPC CTO Mary Lou Jepsen in the Pixel Qi blog:
It’s only slightly more difficult than changing a lightbuld [sic]: it’s basically 6 screws, pulling off a bezel, unconnecting the old screen and plugging this one in. That’s it. It’s a 5 minute operation.
In the same entry, Jepsen writes about a group of girls in Nigeria in the One Laptop Per Child program who opened a “laptop hospital” to do repairs and screen-swaps themselves. Interesting to see that young geeks and tinkerers are the same the world over.
There is no word on what the price of the display kit will be. But given that screens are traditionally the most expensive part of the gizmos that include them, I wouldn’t bet it’s going to be all that cheap.
Considering this screen tech come from a spinoff from the one laptop per child that had 200 dollar laptops that practically invented netbooks, I think these screens would be very affordable. If its a kit there is hardly any if at all human assembled parts so there is no labor charges to pass along to the customer. I see these going for the sub 100 dollar range. I look forward to seeing how these display kits work with the software in the netbook to save energy in reflective mode or ebook mode.