The marketing team and project managers have done their job. Your Company has a slick new product on the drawing board that offers more features than your competitors at a third of the price. Now all you need to do is integrate a display to act as the “face” of this product. You want the biggest, clearest robust display there is on the market and still stay in budget.
This seems simple enough until you roll up your sleeves and start looking. Here are 5 hints you need to know to give that product a “face lift”.
1. Size: Size always matters when choosing a display. Everyone wants the biggest display they can get with the most features. The problem is displays come in all sizes down to the fraction and each size will have its own strengths, weaknesses and price point.
2. Key spec requirements: You have to look at this as a wish list because many times it is hard to find a display that will do everything you want. Yet narrowing down the "must haves" is crucial to keeping on track during this process. What are the key specs? Resolution, interface, temp ranges, surface treatments, touch solutions etc. Will this display be outside?
3. Project Info: Sharing information with possible partners on a project is vital yet not always “unclassified” when choosing a display. How long is the expected life cycle of the project? Are you enhancing or changing an existing project? What is the volume expected?
4. Manufacture: The number of true LCD panel manufactures is not that big (Samsung, LG, AUO, Sharp, CMO & Sony) are the larger players. The smaller players in some cases offer the most flexibility & support, yet the industry is consolidating as we speak which does not bode well for the start up projects needed support in the early stages. Don’t be afraid to ask the manufacturer. You may be surprised that if you ask for an extended life on a panel, the manufactures in some cases will support you.
5. Choosing a partner: This is the tricky part! Unless your company is in the display industry and has: engineering, metal fabrication and integration capabilities, you will need some sort of partner to fill the void. Why should you think of this when choosing a display? Display partners are closely aligned to certain manufacturers. Furthermore, partners cannot have a tier one relationship with everyone, thus the choosing of a panel is closely linked to the partner you choose. One of the worst things you can do is choose a Samsung panel for example, only to find out later your solutions partner has a better relationship with AUO. This can lead to a premature ending to a profitable product line due to lack of panel availability.
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