Electrophoretic displays, more popularly referred to as E-Ink, may be the hands-down best option for use in e-readers and note-taking devices, but they’re a struggle to use with anything that requires a higher refresh rate. So what do you do if you want a paper-like display for your PC monitor? In the case of the Hannspree Hybri Monitor, they turn towards a different kind of paper-like display technology.
Specifically, the monitor employs transreflective LCD (TLCD) technology, which combines an LCD panel with an optical layer that reflects and transmits ambient light. Basically, it draws its illumination from the amount of light in the room, making it a great display to use in places with plenty of natural light (e.g. the outdoors), similar to E-Ink. And since it’s an LCD, it can have high refresh rates that E-Ink panels can only dream of having.
The Hannspree Hybri Monitor uses a 23.8-inch TLCD panel, which allows it to deliver a paper-like display experience if you use it in brightly-lit spaces. That means, this thing will look stellar under direct sunlight, which is the opposite of traditional LCD panels, which are practically unusable in those settings. That’s the catch here, by the way, since TLCD panels only reflect whatever ambient light is available, making them impractical to use in dark and dimly-lit rooms. According to the outfit, in fact, it requires at least 1,000 lux of ambient light for optimum readability without using the backlighting.
To make it viable for use in your bedroom at night, it comes with LED backlighting, which you can activate for a more traditional LCD experience. You can turn the backlighting on and off at the touch of a button, so you can go from paper-like to traditional LCD and back in a jiffy. When used without the backlighting, it boasts paper-like eye comfort, making it ideal for people who have eye strain issues when using more traditional display panels.
The Hannspree Hybri Monitor has a 1080p resolution, with a 16:9 aspect ratio, an eight-bit color depth with 16.7 million colors, and a refresh rate of 75Hz. That’s right, it can do 75Hz. Even better, it has a standard response of 5ms, making it a viable gaming monitor. Sure, it won’t make for the best display to play out your competitive games, but you can use it when needed in a pinch. It comes with a 4-in-1 adjustable stand, too, that can tilt, swivel, pivot, and adjust in height, making set up very flexible for easily integrating into your computing space. Alternatively, you can mount it on a different stand or monitor arm using the built-in VESA MIS-D mount.
Because you can use it without backlighting, the monitor boasts energy-efficient performance, with the outfit claiming it can use up to 80 percent less power than a similarly sized LCD panel. Other features include an anti-glare treatment, an HDMI port, a DP slot, a VGA port, built-in 2W speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The Hannspree Hybri Monitor is now available for preorder in Taiwan, priced at around $900. No word on yet on international availability.
