Motion Computing J3400 Overview page 3

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on the screen. The display itself absolutely excels in
eliminating unwanted reflection or diffusion. Where
other displays appear matte or milky or are over-
come with reflections, the L3400's stays perfectly
readable. In head-on, direct sunlight the display is
still readable, here thanks to the inner reflectance of
the Hydis LCD.
How does it all work? Hydis claims that the
reflective polarizer used in AFFS+ displays lowers
surface reflectance and minimizes screen scatter-
ing. They claim a screen reflectance of under 0.3%
(and here I assume the value supplied by Hydis
means total reflectance of all surfaces). Given that
the effective contrast ratio of an LCD used outdoors
is computed as 1 + (emitted light / reflected light)
and that average sunlight is about 10,000 nits, the
J3400 screen has an effective contrast ratio of 1 +
(320 / >.003 x 10,000) = 1 + >10.66 = >11.66. On our
scale that means "definitely readable in sunlight"
and subjective viewing tests confirm that.
The picture below shows the screen at an ex-
treme angle. The perfect viewing angle from all
direction adds tremendously to the overall usability
of this computer. There are no color and luminance
shifts at all and you never have to squint or look at
the display from a different angle to see it.
The one thing we did not like about the display
was that it attracted fingerprints and other smudges
like a magnet, and they were difficult to clean off.
Real life outdoor viewability
While detailed specifications help in determining
how easy it is to view and use a display outdoors,
you won't know how good it is until you take it
outdoors into the sunlight. It also helps to have a
point of reference, in this case other displays to
compare to. We felt it would be interesting to see
how the Motion J3400 compared to two types of
displays common these days—an example of a high
gloss screen that most current consumer and busi-
ness notebooks have these days, and a sample of a
"matte" display with anti-glare treatment. The
comparison machines we chose are a Gateway
notebook we use in the office and a Toshiba Portege
M700 Tablet PC convertible, predecessor to the still
available Portege M750, and beneficiary of almost
two decades of Toshiba pen computing experience.
The 2006-vintage Gateway does not specifically
have an outdoor screen but despite its glossy screen,
a degree of anti-reflective treatment makes it useful
enough to be taken along on trips.
The picture below shows the computers in the
shade at around 2PM on a bright and sunny day. The
Motion J3400 screen is vibrant and totally readable
without any reflections. The Gateway display is
amazingly bright but even in the shade you can see
distracting reflections.
SPECIAL REVIEW
The next picture shows the computers in bright
daylight but away from the sun. The glossy Gateway
screen is surprisingly strong, but begins reflecting
the background to the extent where it becomes
difficult to see what is on the display. The Motion
J3400 display doesn't show any reflections at all and
remains perfectly viewable and readable.
The next picture shows the computers at the
same time and place, but from a slight angle. This
has no impact at all on the viewability of the Motion
display. The glossy display, however, becomes mir-
rorlike and completely unreadable.
Next, we compared the Motion J3400 and the
Toshiba with its matte anti-glare display. Below you
can see the computers outdoors in the shade. Both
displays are nice and bright, with the Motion some-
what crisper and more vibrant.
We then moved the computers into broad day-
light, but not directly facing the sun. The Motion
screen remains unaffected and completely readable.
The anti-glare coating of the Toshiba turns the
display somewhat milky and harder to read.
The same setting, but from an angle. The anti-
glare very effectively eliminates mirror reflections,
but it also makes the display milky and unreadable.
The Motion display is virtually unaffected.
The picture below shows the toughest test of
them all, with the displays facing directly into the
sun. The picture was taken so that the sun did not
reflect directly into the camera. Under these condi-
tions, even the brightest backlight is no match for
the sun, and readability depends entirely on the
design of the display. The anti-glare properties that
make the Toshiba display so pleasant to use indoors
again create a milkiness that makes viewing almost
impossible. The bright vibrancy we observed on
both displays in the shade is gone in direct sunlight,
but the Motion remains sharp and readable. It now
looks more like a transflective or reflective display.
That's because the Hydis AFFS+ LCD has a reflec-
tive area as well as a transmissive one.
Data input methods
You can use the J3400 with any external USB key-
board or its innovative keyboard/stand combo.
However, when you carry the tablet around, there
often won't be a physical keyboard and users rely on
alternate data entry methods. Tablet PCs usually
offer various methods, and Motion made sure users
have various selections and customization options.
There is, of course, the standard Microsoft input
panel that can be used as an onscreen keyboard (see
top screen in the picture) or for free-form or