IBM Corp Friday gave details of its new flat panel display screen technology that the company says will produce images as clear as a printed page. Big Blue says its display, due for release on September 14, has 200 pixels per inch, about four times the count of the best PC screens now. Robert Wisnieff, manager of IBM’s advanced display technology laboratory said the increased number of small-sized pixels meant the screen could display images that were as good as those coming out of a printer. He said the 16.3-inch screen, co-named Roentgen, was developed under IBM’s joint venture company with Toshiba Corp, Display Technology Inc, at their manufacturing facilities in Japan. But he said the screen would only be available for IBM desktop machines. The technology will eventually be used for laptop screens, Wisnieff added, but first the company needs to work on reducing the screen’s power consumption. The one downfall of the new monitor is its price. Although not written in stone, Wisnieff estimates it will cost somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000. He said the price should gradually fall, as was the case for laser printers and laptop PCs, as demand starts to kick in. IBM will continue to develop display screen technology, the ultimate goal being a panel that will be sharp enough to view x-rays on, Wisnieff said. Hence the latest product’s name, Roentgen, so called after the discoverer of X-rays.
