On paper The Panel is the perfect partner in crime for any notebook, well, perfect except for the fact that its 13.3 inches and not very practical for any sort of mobility. Engadget got to sit down with MELD Technology’s Co-Founder Eric Liao with the prototype.
Its lightweight and easy to use and is sporting analogue video inputs, you connect using a DisplayLink USB graphics chip and have to install a driver before the screen will run. Once you plug in the USB cable you’ll be able to instantly connect the external screen. The panel is brighter thenthe LED backlit XPS M1330 but looks a bit washed out from off viewing angles. Its smooth when playing DVDs there is no lag nor does the audio go out of sync.
This was only a hands on of a prototype so Liao filled in the rest letting Sean know that At 80 percent brightness, the 4200mAh rechargeable battery will last about 4 to 5 hours. The buttons on the right side may be used to control more than brightness and contrast as MEDL Tech is still flirting with the idea of wireless USB and they would double as arrow controls. This would also give the 13.3 panel ereader functionality, we wonder about the weight as any thing more then 750g will be hard on your wrist. A headphone jack has yet to appear but when it does it will allow the audio passthrough from HDMI and possibly USB.
One things which is interesting to note about the finish, the fact that it does look quite dashing beside a Macbook future revisions may include a tablet-style touchscreen so you could use it like a drawing pad. Its a demo unit so don’t judge it too harshly. Enjoy the photos taken by Engadget below.
