Shinoda's giant curved plasma weighs less than your father's first laptop

We've been keeping an eye on Shinoda Plasma's curved PTA (plasma tube array) technology since 2007. What started as a single 43-inch prototype grew to 125-inches in 2008. Now, Shinoda is showing off a 145-inch diagonal prototype consisting of six PTA panels stitched together in a 2-meter x 3-meter matrix. The 960 x 720 pixel resolution might not impress you until you consider the weight: just 7.2-kg (15.8-pounds) thanks to the slim PTA panels measuring just 1-mm thick. Impressive compared to 108-inch LCDs that weigh in at 196-kg (430-pounds) and the original Osborne 1 "laptop" that weighed 24.5-pounds. With any luck, these giant displays will be commercialized for signage so we can all simulate crushing motions with two hands.

[(Unverified) Posted May 7th 2009 4:52AM]

Lightweight = ◎
Thickness = ◎
High Definition = ×

The potential is there but is the price right?
Flexible Large Full HD OLED screens will become part of the landscape in the future so this will probably be what we will see in the time being.

[Brian Posted May 7th 2009 8:11AM]

Curved screens are horrible. Movies, games, etc.. are not made fro a curve screen. Which is why when you see a curved screen in the theater the picture is off. Such as if you had a horizontal line it will appear to bend in the middle of the screen because that's how the human eye sees it.

[(Unverified) Posted May 13th 2009 6:29PM]

I don't think you're understanding that these are being marketed as a business-to-business product. It even says right in the article that its target market will use it for "signage." Don't expect to see this in your local consumer electronic store.

[RandallLind Posted May 7th 2009 10:23AM]

It would be perfect hung on the wall if not curve witht some curtains around it.

[(Unverified) Posted May 7th 2009 11:13AM]

dont really care about the plasma, but id take the girl.

[(Unverified) Posted May 7th 2009 1:27PM]

Scary enough, the osborne 1 was in fact my fathers first laptop. And my first computer. Those things were NOT portable....

[Tothamax Posted May 8th 2009 3:45PM]

I hear ya. My dad has an Inspiron 15 laptop and it is ridiculuos. It weighs 7.9 pounds.