UMPC display comparison: Sunlight visibility

Since many prospective UMPC buyers want to know how readable a particular device's display is outdoors and in direct sunlight, my husband and I headed to Kawaikui Beach Park in nearby Aina Haina this afternoon to find out. We stacked my HTC Shift, Willcom D4, Sony Vaio UX180P, Fujitsu U810, Kohjinsha SC3, and the Gigabyte M704 I have on loan from Direct From Japan in a travel bag, cranked up their screen brightness levels, and set them up on a picnic table. Have a closer look below.

The 84-degree weather and clear skies made everything very toasty and bright. Here's how the UMPC displays fared in direct sunlight (i.e., sun shining directly on their screens):

Here they are with the sun shining down from the left:

And still outdoors but under a shaded structure: