Lcd Monitor

Lcd Monitor

With personalization grafting its image into the hearts of the computer users, the touch screen is invidiously seen as a profitable area. Touch screens have won over the hearts of customers who look for individuality. Touch Screens are displays which are capable of detecting the location of touches within the display area, without the use of external input devices.

Why buy touch screen LCDs?

But why is there a need to use a touch screen? What makes them so exclusive? The venture in this field is not only limited to computer monitors, but is also extended to Point of Sale (POS) machines, personal digital assistant (PDA's), mobile phones, ATM machines, and televisions screens. But what makes touch screen so special? The touch screen technology allows the user to operate the computer with a stylus or a fingertip, and provides an alternative to the tedious use of mouse or keyboard.

The edge that stylus has over mouse or keyboard is that you can use a stylus to draw images, do your signature, and do work in your own handwriting. In other words, the use of stylus or finger has made operations over the computer much relaxed and informal. You can just lie on your couch and easily operate your monitor (the tablet pc) with your fingers! Tablet Pc's are just liked notebooks, only more sophisticated.

LCDs are gaining popularity primarily because they save both space and energy. Combined with a touch screen display, LCDs are the most ingenious technology present today. An LCD touch screen is more compact, efficient, and, like any other touch screen. It is the easiest way to operate your computers, televisions or POS. To prove its credibility, one must compare LCD touch screen to its predecessor, CRT touch screen. The polarity between the technologies of the two, gives LCD a clear edge over its rival. Besides, LCD monitors are compact and lightweight and therefore, more user friendly.

Typically, an LCD touch screen will take up only a third of the space occupied by a CRT touch screen of the same size. As LCD screens are flatter, the viewing area is also increased. In CRT's a 17 inch monitor would have only 16 inch viewing area but the touch screen LCD avails the 17 inch to the user.

What types of touch screen LCD's are available?

Once that you are mesmerized by its functions, you might want to know how does it work? What is the technology behind it and which technology should you look for when buying LCD's? A liquid crystal display or LCD monitor is a thin, flat device which is made up of a number of pixels arranged in front of a reflector.

Each pixel of a LCD consists of a layer of molecules that are aligned between two transparent electrodes. The touch screen technology is highly sophisticated. It is not composed of a single technology but different manufacturers use different approaches with regards to the requirement of their work. For example, a company can use a resistive touch screen which is composed of layers that electrically conduct the point of touch. While other manufacturer may use ultra sounds, instead of electrical signals.

The SAW – Surface acoustic wave technology is used in many computers. Latest technologies includes 5-Wire Resistive touch screen which is the quickest sensitive touch system. The capacitive touch screens are coated with indium tin oxide and conduct electricity continually across a sensor. They can be touch with fingers or by stylus or any other such device. They are unaffected by environmental elements and are known for their clarity. But that technology is expensive and used only in highly sophisticated devices.

Infra red technique was also once used but now it is outmoded since it required using warm hands and the responses were mostly slow. This technology has been effectively integrated in tablet pc technology. Although, they are technically not a touch screen, but they use the same technology and have the same precision.

Salient Features of LCDs

Want to know more about its features? Tempted to look for what varieties and shapes it comes in? There is a wide variety of LCD monitors. They can range from exclusive monitor with speakers to simple LCD monitors. Just like computers, they can be dual screen LCD's too. The new sun light readable LCD have enhanced readability in sunlight without extra power consumption.

Many new ones come with Anti-Glare features, so that the picture quality is enhanced in the sunlight and bright conditions. The LCD touch screen monitors can range from 6 inch to 32 inch. Moreover, LCD's can be 4 or 5 wire capacitive and most of them have the superior SAW technology. Previously, LCD's made use of infra red touch technology but now SAW and 5 Wire resistance have surpassed infra red technology.

They are available in various resolutions ranging from 4096x4096,1024x1024 to1280 x 800. Their aspect ratio is also important while purchasing an LCD. The aspect ratio is the ratio of its height and width. For example,4:3 , 16:9 etc. Many of them come with a stylus. The most popular ones are the soft and pliable ones with eraser.

Problems with LCDs

For people who fear that the screen might get scratches, they can use thin latex gloves. Unlike CRT's, the LCD's have internally supported resolutions for best picture quality. The dot pitch refers to the distance between the pixels. While purchasing an LCD, you should look for smaller dot pitch, as this decreases the "granuality" of the screen.

Moreover, also look for its response time. And the contrast ratio as people using LCD's have problem with its brightness and light adjustments. The color gamut forms an important part of the LCD. It refers to the types of colours that are supported by the LCD. However LCD has its own downfalls. Although the flaws are inconsequential, they are worth mentioning. For most people the problem lies in customizing to the "grain" resolution.

Since the screen is customized to be compatible with touch, its resolution is insignificantly dotted. Another problem is seen while using fingers as a cursor. It is a fact that your fingers are going to be much fatter then the mouse or the stylus. So it is harder to achieve precision on the screen as our fingers occupy greater space. So, especially in the case of touch screen, when using fingers, the screen size does matter. Small screen LCD would be difficult to manage with fingers.

You need to get screen with greater resolution to order to obtain greater precision. And an increase in size would mean, a sacrifice in the terms of resolution. Consequently, the larger resolution would not only cost you much in pecuniary terms but also in terms of quality picture resolution. Just as there is no rose without thorn, there is no LCD monitor with all colour capture. It is not that you would be put back into a bygone era but unlike CRT displays they can not display multiple resolutions just as accurately as the good old CRTs.

Furthermore, there had been complaints regarding its response time, but the ones using SAW technology seems to give a very fast response. But for the users using gloves, to avoid scratches, they will ultimately get a slower response. Constant flickering can degrade the screen quality and cause it to become less than 20 million flicks. And it is more likely to reduce the accuracy and precision every time. Hence, this casts a doubt about their durability.

Most of the LCD's require periodic configuration and have less durable life than the other technologies. Their highly vulnerability to electro magnetic interference is another setback. One of the major problems with touch screen LCD is the false touch encountered due to any obstruction in the screen. This can not be reduced with use of stylus as they can cause pen flicks too. They can be very inconvenient.

Where to buy an LCD?

So if you have decided to buy a touch screen LCD, how much would they cost and where should you get them from? The leading manufacturers of LCD touch screens are AMX LLC,Hitachi,Crestron Electronics, Ltd., Gunze USA, iLight, Dynalite, 3M ,Tyco Electronics and IBM.

If you want to look for touch screen notebooks instead, then you should look for the C1 series notebook from LG,P series and T series notebooks from Fujitsu, ST series Stylistic tablets from Fujitsu and Toughbook series by Panasonic. Sophistication never comes cheap. However, in this case they are not expensive either. A regular lcd touch screen monitor may cost as low as 200 USD's but as expensive as 2000 USD.

Just to give you an idea, a elo 5 wire resistive touch screen, 15 inch, would cost around 510 USD's. Their costs would vary depending on their company, specifications, resolution and size. There are plethora companies that exclusively deal with LCD touch screen monitors. Elotouch is one such example. They provide touch screen monitors for industrial, medical, POS, kiosks, retail, hospitality, transportation, office automation, and gaming.

Xenarc Technologies Corp. is a pioneer in the field of LCD manufacturers who introduce a 7 inch LCD screen with VGA input and Touchscreen. LCD's are reasonably ranged and they are available at all auctions sites. At Nextag You can compare prices and buy LCD monitors. Now, many people buy second hand monitors, speakers and computer accessories and they do fine. But in case of an LCD it is highly recommended that you do not buy a second hand touch screen.

As already mentioned, touch screens are sensitive and less durable. They get scratches on their screens after constant use. Therefore, as the times passes, the screen would be marred. LCD touch screens are no doubt next generation technologies and therefore are a must for comfort lovers.