Asus is reportedly now taking pre-orders for its 31.5 inch monitor (PQ321Q) featuring Sharp's anti-glare LED-backlit IGZO technology. It sports a screen resolution of 3840 x 2160, 140 pixels per inch, and not only cuts down on energy consumption but features an extremely long durability given that Sharp's tech doesn't constantly refresh the images. It's all static until something moves on-screen.
The company introduced the new monitor last month, reporting that Sharp's IGZO tech supports smaller transistors than amorphous silicon thanks to significantly higher electron mobility. It also not only reduces energy consumption, but reduces the monitor's overall bulk as well: at 35 mm at its thickest point, the PQ321 is the thinnest 4K UHD monitor available today, the company said.
A Sharp rep said during CES 2013 in January that the 31.5 inch panel will be marketed to professionals first given the end-price. The prototype also had ten-point touch input which apparently didn't make it into the company's own PN-K321 31.5 inch IGZO monitor selling for $5,000 USD. The Asus model also doesn't support touch.
The upcoming PQ321Q supports wide 176° horizontal and vertical viewing angles, 10 bit RGB "deep" color, and an 8 millisecond gray-to-gray response time. Other features include a 0.182 mm pixel pitch, a max brightness of 350 cd/m2, a max contrast ratio of 800:1, picture-by-picture support and HDCP support. The monitor's typical power consumption is 93 watts.
On the connectivity front, the I/O panel has two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and an RS-232C port for old-school VGA connections. There's also a 3.5 mm mini-jack for PC audio input, a 3.5 mm mini-jack for AV audio input, and a 3.5 mm mini-jack for earphones (for HDMI and DisplayPort).
Last month the company said that the new display is the "equivalent to four Full HD displays stacked side-by-side." It can now be pre-ordered on Amazon here, and on Newegg here, both requesting $3,499.99 USD. The monitor is slated to arrive on July 16, 2013.
