A handheld wireless display device, having at least SVGA-type resolution, includes a wireless interface, such as Bluetooth™, WiFi™, Wimax™, cellular or satellite, to allow the device to utilize a number of different hosts, such as a cell phone, personal computer, media player. The display may be monocular or binocular. Input mechanisms, such as switches, scroll wheels, touch pads, allow selection and navigation of menus, playing media files, setting volume and screen brightness/contrast, activating host remote controls or performing other commands. The device may include MIM diodes, Hall effect sensors, or other position transducers and/or accelerometers to detect lateral movements along and rotational gestures around the X, Y and Z axes as gesture inputs and movement queues. These commands may change pages, scroll up, down or across an enlarged screen image, such as for web browsing. An embedded software driver (e.g., Microsoft Windows SideShow™) permits replicating a high-resolution screen display from a host PC. The device may repeatedly poll the host at intervals for updated content even when the host is powered off, asleep or hibernating, and may return the host to its previous power state.