Eye for an iPad

Meko calls for vendors to meet Apple's high-res screen head on

The so-called Retina Display on the new iPad3 tablet sends out a challenge to the displays industry, according to comment from screens specialist analyst firm Meko.

Bob Raikes, principal analyst at Meko, said the iPad3 display is significantly better than almost any other display sold by the computer industry, not just in the notebook category, but in the monitor segment as well.

"Desktop monitor suppliers are happy to sell, as a mainstream display product, panels that change colour when viewed from off-axis. Mobile phones, on the other hand, that can be easily turned to any viewing angle have IPS or OLED displays that don't change colour so easily.

"That, to a newcomer to the industry, might seem bizarre. My OLED-based smartphone looks better than any of the LCD monitors I use," said Raikes in a statement.

Monitors are sold as specialist aftermarket peripherals for viewing content on PCs that are used day in and day out for productivity applications and for the best home computing experiences. Even so, only 0.05 per cent of the current monitor market in Europe offers performance that can beat or even match that of Apple's Retina Display, according to Meko.

The iPad3's 3Mp display resolution is 50 per cent better than the 1920 x 1080 format displays that have been the main focus of the makers of LCDs and monitors in recent years. Also, the colours are more consistent than on the commonly used displays in most desktop monitors, according to Meko.

"I know the arguments about viewing distances and fonts, and why high resolution is 'too difficult', but really I cannot accept that the industry and the powerhouse companies are unable to change things," said Raikes.

"Before long, the worst displays in my world will not be those that have to be incredibly portable and low power in my smartphone or in a tablet, or the very large display that is my TV, but will be the desktop monitor and the notebook I use all day every day."

According to Raikes, monitor and LCD makers must do something to push the software companies and system suppliers to support higher resolution and wide and accurate colour, or stand to miss out.