Love 'em or hate 'em, Apple has a habit of trend setting. When Apple released their original iPad, it had a meager low resolution 1024 x 768 resolution display which was scoffed at by many, yet it didn't stop it from being a runaway success. And the iPad 2 didn't improve on it, either - perhaps surprisingly, since the original formula worked so well. However, in early 2012 Apple plans to introduce its new Retina display equipped next generation iPads, offering a very high 2048 x 1536 resolution. On the 9.7" screen of an iPad, this would make the pixels all but invisible to anyone, except for those with the sharpest of 20-20 vision, giving the screen superb clarity and wow factor. These will be incorporated into its next generation iPads, which is expected to push the PC notebook market to use higher resolution displays too in order to remain competitive.

One indication of this, is that Acer and Asustek Computer are, according to Digitimes, both working with "panel makers AU Optronics (AUO) and Chimei Innolux (CMI) separately to develop a new generation of full HD notebook panels with a resolution of 1,928x1,080, according to industry sources." Digitimes' sources also state that these new ultrabooks are expected to go one sale around Jan-Feb 2012 at the earliest and that both manufacturers are optimistic that these small computers will sell well. For comparison, Asus's 11.6" UX21 ZenBook model is currently stuck at a 1366 x 768 resolution - barely better than an iPad 2. This resolution unfortunately, is also common with larger laptops, too. However, with the new display panels, this should hopefully jump to a much more useful Full HD, 1920 x 1080 resolution.

So, could this trend also rub off on desktop monitors, perhaps making 2048 x 1152 desktop monitors commonplace and inexpensive? It seems quite possible. The market has been stuck at a Full HD resolution for a while now and it's about time we saw a significant resolution jump.