N00b Question: What is a "transflective" screen?

[Hughes]

What is a "transflective" screen and why is it better than a "non-transflective" screen?

[Sven Johannsen]

You have two basic types of LCD screens, transmissive and reflective. Reflective reflects the light shining on it, so is great with good external lighting (outdoors). Transmissive lets light transmit through it, so requires some lighting behind it (backlight), so is great in dim light (indoors), but washes out with bright light shining on it (crummy outdoors). A composite technology trans(missive)-reflective, is...TADA...the best of both, allowing good dim light visibility due to a backlight and good outdoor visibility due to the reflective nature.

Beyond that, the LCD technology gets better with each iteration, and so the screens become brighter, and now visible in more ambient lighting conditions, than ever before. Ain't progress grand.