Which LCD modules should we offer

Question

For some time now we have considered offering 2 or 3 types of LCD modules to go along with our products. We have the software and interface included on some products.

The problem is that there are so many types when you include the size of the characters, number of characters, number of lines, backlighting or not, backlighting color.

The other problem is that you need to purchase quite a few to get a decent price in order to resell them. (We don't expect to make a lot. We just want to offer our products and an LCD module from a single source.)

Has anyone done any kind of study or have any information on what some of the most often requested types are?

Our most likely candidates so far are 16x2 and 20x4, both LED backlighted.

With the population aging, does it make sense to insure that we have a few types that can be read by older folks without their reading glasses? (I include myself in this group.)

Your opinions or comments of any type are appreciated.

Thad Smith · Accepted Answer

I suspect that the optimum will vary with the application. Some parameters are price sensitivity, room available for the display, experience of typical user, how often the display is used, how much information needs to be seen at once, and ambient lighting.

As an example, computer printer LCD displays are often small, because they are cost sensitive and they aren't used much. A display that is used a lot, though, will greatly benefit from a brighter, larger display. If it is a high end unit, I would say splurge for the better display. If you are in a competitive arena, a poor display may be a killer. Maybe you can look at devices similar to yours. You might want to offer a display option, but probably keep the choice among two possibilities. If the code is optimized for two different sizes, there could be a fair amount of difference.

You might do a mockup of the interface with the two different displays and see how much difference it would make to people. The larger display can make the display easier to read: less switching from one screen to another and abbreviations.

You might want to check out Niall Murphy's web site

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and his book on embedded system user interfaces for ideas.

He he. I'll buy that. ;-)

Thad

Arie de Muynck · Answer

Have a look at OLED displays (Organic LED). I've seen a 2x16 yesterday and the contrast and viewable angle was amazingly good, much better than LED backlighting. And much lower power.

Regards, Arie de Muynck

Anton Erasmus · Answer

Hi,As another poster suggested, get some OLED or PLED displays. Lookat  for some availablemodules.Regards   Anton Erasmus

Which LCD modules should we offer

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