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Microsoft's vision of PC access via portable, wireless Smart Displays is drawing closer to reality, with the release of the first such display and additional vendor support.

After a slight delay, ViewSonic last week released the first product based on Microsoft's new software, known previously by the code name Mira. Philips Consumer Electronics announced a similar product for release in early February, and both NEC and Fujitsu unveiled their entries this week.

The Windows Powered Smart Displays allow users to access their PC through a touch-screen display that can be carried about the home. The display communicates with the PC via the 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, networking standard and lets users read e-mail, surf the Web, play music, and use other applications as if they were sitting at the PC.

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates previewed the technology at the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show. The first devices originally were intended to hit store shelves in time for the holiday shopping season that just ended, but the hardware and software took a bit longer to complete than the company expected.

ViewSonic First to Ship

ViewSonic has released two displays, said Megan Kidd, a Microsoft product manager. The ViewSonic Airpanel V110 has a 10-inch screen and is priced at $999; the V150 has a 15-inch screen and sells for $1299. The prices include a USB Wi-Fi adapter that connects to the PC so it can communicate with the wireless display. The prices also include an upgrade to Windows XP Professional Edition, which is required to use the displays.

ViewSonic is also working to embed Universal Electronics "home control" software into its displays, so users can control their stereo, VCR, and other appliances from the touch-sensitive screen. That capability is expected to be offered in the second quarter, a ViewSonic spokesperson said.

ViewSonic has been taking orders for the products since late last year. A ViewSonic spokesperson wouldn't say how many of the devices were preordered.

Philips's first Smart Display, the DesXscape 150 DM (intended to sound like "desk escape"), is scheduled to ship during the first week of February and will be priced at $1499. The 15-inch display is slightly slimmer than ViewSonic's, Kidd said, and for a limited time the price includes a wireless keyboard. It does not include an operating system upgrade.

NEC, Fujitsu Join In

NEC and Fujitsu each showed their first Windows-Powered Smart Display at an event in Japan.

NEC's SD10 has a 10-inch LCD, is based on a National Semiconductor Geode processor, and has 32MB of memory. The Windows CE operating system, on which the device is based, takes up around 10MB of this memory, leaving the rest available for local caching of information.

The company is planning to put its Smart Display on sale in Japan in early February for $840. That is cheaper than ViewSonic's V110, but ViewSonic bundles the Windows XP Pro upgrade and a wireless LAN adapter.

NEC's device has been shown before as a prototype, under the NEC name and also that of Tatung, the Taiwanese company that is manufacturing the device.

Fujitsu showed only a prototype device. Detailed specifications were not available and the company did not release firm launch or pricing details, but Microsoft said this device will be available shortly after the NEC machine goes on sale.

Smart Displays maintain a link with the main PC across a Remote Desktop Protocol link that requires less than 1 megabit per second of wireless bandwidth, meaning a stable link should be easily maintained around most homes, said Keith White, senior director of Microsoft's embedded and appliance platforms group.

Skepticism Remains

Analyst company Gartner is skeptical of the need for Smart Displays, regarding them as "an idea in search of a home."

"For the price versus the functionality, at the moment there's no compelling reason to own one," said Leslie Fiering, vice president of mobile computing research at Gartner. Consumers who want to check e-mail or surf the Web around the home can just as easily use a notebook with a Wi-Fi connection and save some money, she said.

Microsoft expects demand for the products to come initially from early adopters, suggesting high-volume sales aren't expected for the first wave of displays. But prices are likely to drop with future iterations, which should lead to more widespread use, Microsoft's Kidd said.

Indeed, Microsoft already is talking about planned improvements for future versions of its Smart Display software. Beta testers have said they'd like to log into applications running on their PC and their wireless display concurrently, which isn't possible with the first wave of devices because of "application licensing issues" and security features in Windows XP, Kidd said.

The first devices also can't cleanly display a DVD video streamed from a PC, largely because the Remote Desktop Protocol in Windows XP Pro can't handle the high volume of data. "Streaming video is another area we're working on. It works, but the experience isn't great," she said.

Microsoft is working on both issues for a future version of its Smart Display software, although the release of that is still "a ways out there," Kidd said.

Nevertheless, feedback from beta testers has been positive, according to Kidd. One Arizona man liked being able to check his e-mail in the garden while he kept an eye on his children in the pool, she said. Being able to surf the Web and check a recipe from a Smart Display in the kitchen, for example, has also been popular. "Once they got used to the mobility, they didn't want to go back," Kidd said.

In the Works

Also in the pipeline: Electronics maker BenQ is developing a 10-inch display expected to ship in the second quarter this year, while Samsung Electronics expects to have one out in time for the holiday season in late 2003, Kidd said.

Microsoft is also working with Hewlett-Packard to allow Smart Displays to show the user interface developed by HP for its Media Center PC, which is designed for multimedia use. The software giant is also exploring ways to get its Smart Display software into other appliances so that users can view digital pictures stored in their PC on a television screen or through a digital projector.

"The first form factors are wireless monitors, but we're looking at ways to evolve the category," Kidd said.

Microsoft has so far pitched the technology squarely at consumers. In the workplace, Smart Displays potentially could interfere with other wireless networks, Kidd said, but the company is exploring ways to get around that.

Smart Displays differ from another recently launched Microsoft platform, the Tablet PC. Those are also portable displays that can be carried around like a clipboard, but unlike Smart Displays they are also full-fledged PCs that run applications locally. Users can write directly on the screen using a digital pen.

Gartner's Fiering was far more bullish about Tablet PCs. When prices for those devices come down and more applications are available, Gartner expects them to be widely used, particularly among vertical industries.

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• DM NEC's SD10