Philips 23-Inch Monitor With an Extra 13.3-Inch E INK Screen

Want a dual-screen monitor that can boost your productivity? Then you try to get the Philips 23-Inch Monitor With an Extra 13.3-Inch E INK Screen.

When the first e-readers with e-paper displays came out almost 20 years ago, some people hoped that the low-power display would finally replace the power-hungry and eye-straining LCDs we've come to rely on. Behold the new Philips 23-Inch Monitor With an Extra 13.3-Inch E INK Screen. Well, an E INK display has yet to totally replace our colourful LCDs, but now Philips is giving us a hybrid display system combining the best of both worlds.

Philips 23-Inch Monitor With an Extra 13.3-Inch E INK Screen

But there are clear benefits to using e-paper, especially when it comes to applications that don't need to be updated often. This rather radical Philips 23-Inch monitor combines your ordinary LCD display together with another 13.3-inch e-paper display directly by its side. From afar, both these separate screens look like a complete display. I'm sure there will be a lot of applications and use cases for such a hybrid desktop monitor.

In a side-by-side configuration, this monitor combines a landscape LCD panel and a portrait e-paper display. With this configuration, you can use the LCD for common computing duties. You have the option of transferring documents and other reading materials to the e-paper portion, allowing you to read PDF files, text-heavy websites, and lengthy lines of code while protecting your eyes.

Two Displays on One Single Stand

This eye-opening Philips 23-Inch monitor with an extra E INK screen is supported by just one single stand. On the left, you will get the 23.8-inch IPS display while the 13.3-inch E-Ink Carta e-paper screen extends directly to the right. The LCD has a screen of 2,560 x 1,440, a 16:9 aspect ratio, and a refresh rate of 75Hz, so it should work like any other work monitor. It also has 99.8% sRGB colour coverage, a maximum brightness of 250 lumens, and a reaction time of 4 ms. On the other hand, the E-Ink display has a resolution of 1,200 x 1,600, a colour temperature system (so you can reduce the amount of blue light), and full front lights to make it easy to read in low light.

Equipped With 45 Degrees Hinge

The hybrid Philips Monitor has a hinge that links the two panels. This hinge lets the e-paper display fold in up to 45 degrees, so you can play around with the setup to find the best angle for reading. The e-paper panel comes with an app called Smart Remote that lets you change the text size (it has nine sizes), change the text contrast (it has four options), search for documents, and turn pages.  You can also easily zoom and pan your display by taking advantage of the buttons at the bottom. There are also four USB ports, which we think can be used to charge different devices. The monitor works with both Windows and Mac. However, the Smart Remote app is only available on Windows.

Unfortunately, the Philips 23-Inch Monitor With an Extra 1.3-inch E INK Screen is only available in selected countries only. Therefore, if it is not extensively available in your country, you can always directly import it from retailers such as Good Ereader, which sells it for US$1,599.99 (RM7,399). It is a bit pricey but I am sure my PRISM+ Nomad Ultra 16 can serve as a good secondary display as well for my laptop. Then again if you are interested in this hybrid dual-screen Philips monitor, head over to Goodereader's official website.