Hanwha Launches Monitors With Bus-Power

Hanwha Japan has launched couple of WVGA resolution LCD monitors that are completely bus-powered, that means the display draws its power from USB instead of a separate AC adapter. Despite its size, the UM-710 and UM-730 are full feature monitors capable of processing 16.7-million color and have ergonomic design to provide a range of adjustments including lifting, tilting and even allowing you to rotate the screens in horizontal or vertical position at 90 degree.

Both units have the same LCD monitor with resolution of 800x480, contrast of 400:1 and provide a maximum luminance of 350 cd/m2. The monitor has a narrow viewing angle of 130/110 rating and panel response rate of 20ms (typical), 30ms (max). Only the UM-730 comes equipped with a 1.3Mp web cam and a microphone.

If I were to use HTPC for media playback, this mini-monitor would be useful as an external display for Home-theater setup with projector system. But the shortcomings are compatibility, the monitors only work on Windows Vista Sp1 and XP SP3 32 bits system. The Hanwha bus-powered monitors will be available in Japan coming this mid December with an estimated price of $213 for UM-730.