The Change Mariner

LCD Speakers: Sound for Tomorrow's PCsakers

Business Week Online:

Laptop screens are for displaying images, right? Of course. But nowadays, that's not all: In one of NEC's latest models, the screen also serves as a pair of stereo speakers. It's not just a marketing gimmick to boost sales to high-tech junkies. The liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) actually produce better sound than the typical laptop speaker.

After all, the size of a speaker is a major factor in sound quality, and LCDs dwarf the itty-bitty speakers in laptops. So the audio improvement is dramatic -- as Andrew Williams will eagerly demonstrate. He's the marketing director at NXT, the British company that developed the audio-video technology, and he lugs around a small Acer laptop that has a switch so the sound can be flipped between the usual speakers and the display. The contrast is like listening to a transistor radio vs. a home stereo system.

There's also an economic benefit that may surprise most people: Punching the speaker-grille holes in a laptop's case is one of the more expensive manufacturing operations. Eliminating that and the usual speakers can nearly offset the cost of the fancy new technology.

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