In the last quarter of the previous year, I got hold of a virginal (sealed OEM-crate) PQ3QI-01 sunlight-viewable LCD panel (and, after several unsuccessful attempts -- an old box where it fits.) These marvels are long out of print but apparently still available, somehow, from the Chinese, at around 100 $ per.

If the backlight lamp is used, even on minimal power, the colour picture remains sharp in direct sunlight, which cannot be said for any other LCD which I have previously owned.

When the lamp is not used, the reflective backing of the crystal becomes visible and makes for a razor-sharp monochrome picture, if the contents of the display are appropriately configured.

I promised several people a photograph, which follows:

Lamp enabled, Emacs in typical working mode:

Lamp disabled, and Emacs background set to white:

The spot of shade is the fault of my head plus the camera. Possibly I will re-take this picture when winter ends, for a clearer portrait, the above does not really do the thing justice.

The machine (otherwise uninteresting, and costing around 50 $ second-hand) was experimentally found to run, given a full charge, for 4.5 - 5 hours with the lamp running; and 7.5 - 8 without (given minimal CPU load.)

Before anyone asks, I have no idea why the manufacturer went broke. It was, IMHO, a great product, and in so far as I know had no competition whatsoever, nor is any direct replacement available today (aside from the Chinese old-stock.)