USB-powered Samsung monitor

It may not be able to run a 3.5-inch desktop harddisk, but the age-old USB 2.0 port can now power a PC monitor all on its own. However, the magic lies not in the port but the fact that Samsung has somehow managed to reduce the power consumption of its upcoming AMOLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display to 6.3 watts.

Hence, this 18.5-inch panel needs only a single USB cable to stream data and power from a PC. The 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution, 250 cd/m2 brightness and 1,000:1 contrast ratio puts this on par with most laptop displays. The main drawback is this LED-edge lit screen lasts only 30,000 hours, compared with 50,000 for standard LCD panels.

Pricing details are unknown, but this Samsung AMOLED display is expected to make a retail appearance in 2011.