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Battery-powered LCDs? No, it's not an early April Fool... (0)

 

When I first heard of Digital View's battery-backed signage system - VideoFlyer-SP - due to be unveiled at a trade show in Chicago next week (see story here), I must confess I thought it was an early April Fool.

And I've heard a few April Fool technology stories in my time, like the mobile phone that lasts a year between charges (you carry the batteries in a rucksack -Ed) and the floppy disk that doubles the amount of data stored on the disk by spinning the drive head as well as the disk surface (think about it -Ed).

But the technology is definitely not an April Fool and is much-needed in the retail industry.

Not all retail stores are purpose-built emporiums built in a modern shopping mall. A quick stroll around the cities of Manchester and London here in the UK reveals a number of stores built into the shells of old Victorian buildings. And likewise in many cities across the US.

These old buildings were built before the electric revolution and, as a result, power cables are very much an afterthought. This often means that the number of power outlets in the stores are limited.

Short of rewiring these old stores - at considerable cost - the VideoFlyer-SP is the best option to get signage out into the shelf space.

The aim of the battery-powered signage system, says Digital View's Dusty Perryman, is to engage the customer at the point of purchase.

For that to happen you don't need a 64 inch portrait LCD screen - all you need is an eye-level five or seven inch display and a presentation that sells the product. Once it is in the shopper's trolley or basket, the signage's work is done.

This is what makes the VideoFlyer-SP a breakthrough. It will be even more of a breakthrough if the company comes up with a new type of power source which it claims to be developing.

But that, as they say, is another story...

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