More screens, not necessarily mobile

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor

With our many discussions of multiple screens for MOBILE workers, this article stood out in today’s New York Times: In Data Deluge, Multitaskers Go to Multiscreens

An engineering colleague recently bought himself an HD TV screen to handle more info and increase productivity. For many of the mobile workers around me, we dock our laptops, yet leave the laptop screen open to have multiple documents and apps available.

I personally keep my personal iPad and company-issued Android next to me. Today, I also have my personal laptop with me. At home, I often have three of these four screens open.

“Tech firms sold 179 million monitors worldwide last year and only 130 million desktop computers — meaning “more screens per desk,” said Rhoda Alexander, who heads monitor and tablet research at IHS iSuppli.”

Other than feeling more productive, the slimmer and cheaper monitors fit more easily on the desk and can be a recruiting tool. More desk monitors for an engineer or analyst seems key, while mobile employees are enticed with the promise of tablets and smartphones like iPhones or Androids.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Yam/The New York Times