the thing i heard about sounded like an alternative to backlight where the brighter the light shining on it the brighter the display. if there is such technology i'll have to wait for it to be more widely known.
glossy displays are easier to read in bright areas but they have some problems. here are the disadvantages of glossy displays from wikipedia:
Glossy displays tend to exaggerate colors and shade, to the point in which they over-saturate and have poorer grayscale accuracy.[citation needed] This makes glossy displays unsuitable for people who seek to use their computers for graphics work which requires color accuracy. This is why detractors claim that glossy displays are used as a marketing gimmick.[5]
Also, due to the reflective nature of the display, in most lighting conditions which include direct light sources facing the screen, glossy displays create too many reflections which can be distracting to the user of the computer.[1][6] This is especially annoying to users who work in an environment, such as in an office, where the position of lights and windows is fixed, as these create distracting unavoidable reflections on glossy displays.