display alliance news 6.29.2010

King Jim, a Japanse stationary maker, launches Pitrec, a new hand held for digitizing business cards.
Sourced from CrunchGear, "the Pitrec isn’t cheap ($310 isn’t really a bargain for a single purpose device), but it looks quite useful. All that users need to do is to put the card into a slot that’s running along the side of the device and press the shutter button to take a quick snap. The data is then stored on microSD (16GB are enough for about 10,000 cards). King Jim says OCR makes sure the Pitrec detects details such as name and title of the contact, company name, phone number etc. All contacts can be listed up in a specific order, starred, tagged, and viewed on the Pitrec’s 3.5-inch TFT screen (400×240 resolution)." Read the full article here, at Crunchgear.

Looking for the best time to install a digital signage package? How about right from the start.
DigitalSignageBlog delivers 5 good reasons why renovating your retail space is the best time to implement digital signage. There first case being, cost savings for running cables and power. If planned correctly then during the electrical fitout, you can install and run cables (this includes audio, video, and data) to the various screens locations before the walls are put up. Trust me, it’s must cheaper than having to install these at a later stage. Read the other reasons here.

Samar Technologies Announces Upgraded All-in-one Ad Display product line in 7” to 15” sizes available in July 2010.
The LED powered panel offers low power consumption, a longer life cycle and contains no lead or mercury for less impact to the environment. These reliable products are designed to run 24/7. Content loading is user friendly and can be uploaded by SD card, thumb drive or through a network. Customized designs including private labeling and logos will be offered upon request. All of these features will be available at excellent pricing with discounts offered for volume purchases. Read the full press release here.

A useful comparison between LED and CCFL technologies.
The brains at General Digital serve up a great article about the distinctions between these two technologies. While each technology has its own distinct advantages, LED backlit displays tend to be superior to CCFL displays in terms of longevity (50,000 hours minimum), much greater resistance against shock and vibration, reduced power consumption, brighter intensity and precise control of the intensity, among several other attributes. Due to their solid-state design, they do not require an inverter as they typically require only 5 Vdc of power to operate, though they can be configured to run with 12 Vdc. Read the full analysis here.