What's New for 2006

Besides providing increased brightness, LED-backlit LCDs will give users truer color representation on their screens. This is because LEDs can generate a richer color spectrum, thanks to the quality of the backlighting. "Current LCDs can show only 70 percent of the color standards," says Bob O'Donnell, an analyst with IDC. "With LED you can surpass the standard and get to the high-definition color levels." This means that when you take a digital camera picture, your LED-backlit monitor will display the same colors that were in your original shot, not a facsimile missing 30 percent of the color spectrum. According to iSuppli's Alexander, the difference can be striking: LED-backlit LCDs have "a significant wow factor," he says.

Don't expect the nosebleed prices of LCD-backlit LCDs to drop significantly in 2006, however. Pricing typically decreases only with competition, and in a nascent market you won't see a host of aggressive new competitors pushing prices south. "There are also a lot of research and development costs that need to get recouped," Alexander points out. "Maybe in 2007 we'll see some significant price drops here."

For buyers who are still on budgets, wide-screen monitors hold more immediate promise. Wide screens will finally make a big splash in the desktop computer market in 2006, and if you work with spreadsheets quite a bit, those displays will make it easier to view lots of columns at once. Many vendors claim that it's possible to view two Word documents side by side with a wide-screen display, but according to iSuppli's Alexander you'll need at least a 23- or 24-inch wide screen for that to work well.

Wide-screen buyers will be glad to know that monitor response time, which affects how fluidly a fast-moving object appears on your display, will improve significantly. In 2004, response times of 25 milliseconds were common. Now you're more likely to find a 12ms or even 8ms model. Those numbers will continue to drop in 2006. You'll notice the change most when viewing movies or playing games. Motion should be smoother, with less ghosting.

The wide-screen TV or monitor you've been coveting should get much more affordable next year. Here are market research firm iSuppli's projections of the dropping prices.

Long-Range Wireless Today

Long-distance wireless is coming, but notebook-based WiMax is still some way off.

Despite all the hype surrounding wireless networking, the fact remains that finding a public Wi-Fi connection still takes some work. Next year, finding a wireless connection should start to get easier, thanks to a long-range broadband wireless technology from Intel called WiMax. According to an Intel spokesperson a WiMax signal "can carry 50 miles in tests, but in reality about half that."

The first WiMax version to arrive will be "fixed WiMax," in which a tower beams the WiMax signal and a WiMax router receives it. A Wi-Fi access point then broadcasts the signal its normal 150 feet. So the first versions will obviate only the need to run a cable into your home. The first WiMax-compatible routers have already appeared, with more expected to follow early next year. When "mobile WiMax" arrives in late 2007, WiMax-compatible notebooks will be able to pick up signals directly from the tower, which means that if you're within a tower's extensive range, you'll have a broadband connection.

Look for more municipalities, which may be experimenting with citywide public wireless programs already, to consider fixed WiMax as another option.

If you can't wait wait until 2007 for pervasive wireless Net access, offerings from cellular providers Cingular, Sprint, and Verizon can bridge the gap. All are rolling out their high-speed (400 or 700 kbps, depending on the technology) networks at a rapid clip, with service already available in many metropolitan areas. The programs require a special PC Card modem (Sprint sells a $250 Sierra Wireless AirCard for access to its EvDO network, for example), and the monthly plan doesn't come cheap (usually around $60, depending on service level). Also, keep an eye out for notebooks like Lenovo's ThinkPad Z Series, which you can order with high-speed wireless access built-in.

Apple: Intel Inside