[wzdd]

I have an old Acer Aspire One netbook which I modded with a Pixel Qi display. It is definitely usable for programming in direct sunlight, though the display is physically too small to get comfortable doing a lot of programming on it. Funnily enough, the major problem is not enough sunlight -- indoors, you can use the backlight, and direct sun provides a good contrast ratio outside, but in the shade outdoors, particularly after my eyes have adjusted for sunlight, the screen becomes difficult to see.

[iagovar]

Hmm, I see. Did you have problems to adjust to other normal screens too, or it was just with that Pixel Qi one?

[wzdd]

Just the Pixel Qi. In indirect light, the contrast ratio is much lower than, say, a Kindle, which is itself much lower than paper. So unless the sun is directly on it, it's harder for sun-adjusted eyes to read than a Kindle, or than it is for indoors-adjusted eyes to read a normal backlit LCD.