Why Mobile Device Display Is So Important

By Cary Kiest, R&D engineering director, Trimble Mobile Computing Solutions, www.trimblemcs.com

If you’re selecting a device without considering the display it provides, you’re making a mistake.

Customer surveys and market research on mobile computers consistently list the same top user complaint: poor display readability in bright outdoor sunlight. If you can’t see the display, how can you get any work done? While most mobile computers claim to be “sunlight readable,” very few are easy to see when the sun is blazing down. The good news? There is a solution.

Understanding Mobile Device Display Ratings
When evaluating sunlight readability, you’ll often see nit specifications for the mobile computer’s display — referring to the luminance or light emitted per unit area (usually a pixel). While this metric is somewhat useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story. First, nits only describe how much light the display produces on its own. Second, nits don’t offer any help toward knowing how readable the display is. So what should you look for?