A more modest detector, with larger pixels, can often produce much higher quality images because of reduced noise.
By using an array of dots, say 8 x 8, a larger pixel could be formed to represent 64 gray levels.
A smaller pixel can't gather as much light as a larger pixel as it has less surface.
Plain, old, often awful screens with tiny, ugly text and large pixels.
The D3's sensor has larger pixels and greater light sensitivity than previous DX sensors.
The AP model has larger pixels than the other electronic cameras Kodak makes.
In an image sensor, larger pixels mean better light-gathering capability.
The effect was of trying to depict a photograph using a small number of large pixels, or picture units.
In both cases, integration of the large pixels over time allows smaller, more accurate pixels to be constructed in a still image result.
The tradeoff is a complicated reset scheme, as well as either a much larger pixel or extra column-level circuitry.