2010-04-13

Colour E-Readers

Liquavista

Colour e-readers with video shown off

A colour e-reader that supports video and potentially web browsing has been shown off by Dutch researchers.

The prototype uses screen technology - based on century-old science - that its makers say is up to four times more energy efficient than LCD screens.

Once established in the e-reader market, Dutch firm Liquavista hope to see its displays integrated into other devices in the future.

But analysts question whether consumers will be enticed by the greener gadgets.

Liquavista said it expects the first e-readers using the "electrowetting" technology to be available by the middle of 2011 and the technology to then become more widespread.


LiquavistaColor & Texas Instruments eReader demonstrator




ASUS DR750


Times Online

Get ready for the newsstand in your hand

The next generation of ebook readers will deliver colourful, interactive papers and magazines wirelessly

Asus, the Taiwanese manufacturer that pioneered the netbook concept, has given InGear exclusive details of its DR-570 reader, to be released by the end of the year. Asus says it has developed a 6in, high-brightness, OLED colour screen that should run for a whopping 122 hours on one battery charge — and that’s not just when displaying text but under real-world conditions, such as running Flash video over its built-in wi-fi or 3G. If that claim stands up, it would make this game-changing device nearly as energy-efficient as today’s monochrome readers.

Asus DR-570 e-reader: fresh details!

The Asus DR-570 packs a 5.7-inch OLED display with a sharp 768×1024 resolution with a 0.03 second refresh rate, 4GB of flash storage, 412MB of RAM, a 1530mAh battery and an SD/SDHC card slot, and it weighs just 200g.

Format wise, the Asus DR-570 will support ePub, PDF, TXT, MP3, MP4 and AVI files and play back Flash videos too so it’ll be a real multimedia juggler. We can confirm it’ll pack Wi-Fi and 3G, but there’s no mention of WiMax as with the larger, monochrome Asus DR-950.


BenQ

BenQ Focuses on E-Readers

BenQ, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, is going to draw its attention towards e-readers. The company does not have any plans to develop a tablet device which can
resemble the Apple’s iPad. Moreover, the producer
hopes that its color version of nReader will be available in the market this year and will become one of the keys to win the market.

[...]

The company intends to provide a color screen version of the e-reader, which will be available later this year. The original nReader was launched in January and has a price tag of US$280. The device is equipped with a 6-inch touchscreen and apart from displaying e-books, it can play music. The e-reader is available in Asian markets.

Qualcomm


Tablet with butterfly wings – video included


As the current set of eReaders such as Kindle and its peers settle in, developers are looking to improve with a further generation of products. The next generation will certainly include larger, colour screens and semi-conductor firm Qualcomm is tackling this with a Biomimetic display technology it calls Mirasol. Biomimetics is a branch of technology that mimics naturally occurring phenomena to solve problems.
 


E-Books: Mirasol Display Attempts to Trump E Ink



iRex

iRex promise color ebook reader in 2011: 3x brighter than rivals


E-reader manufacturer iRex have announced [pdf link] that they intend to have a color,  writable ebook reader on the market by 2011.  The device, which is currently unnamed, will use a system of  subtractive color mixing which, according to iRex, results in three times the brightness of existing additive color electrophoretic displays. 

PVI E-Ink

Color and Video Coming to Kindle? Partner Shows New Screens

Taiwan-based Prime View International, which last year acquired E-Ink, a top vendor of electronic paper displays, displayed 6-inch and 9.7-inch color e-reader screens at a trade show in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.


PVI has shown its color-screen technology to buyers of its displays including Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which sells the Nook e-reader, the PVI spokeswoman said. But she declined to comment on whether Amazon planned to use the screens in the Kindle.


Color and video coming to Kindle? Partner shows new screens



Fujitsu FLEPia

Hands-On With Fujitsu’s FLEPia Color eReader

Fujitsu’s FLEPia seeks to address the issue of color depth with an eReader that can display up to 260,000 colors when in high-def mode while still rendering black and white text fairly fast in Quick Mode. To get to this depth the reader takes three passes at rendering a page.
[...]

The FLEPia isn’t available in the US currently and may never be. The technology is impressive but still expensive, and tablets are elbowing in on the eReader market.

Notebooks.com First Look at the Fujitsu Color Ebook Reader





Sources:
  1. BBC News - Colour e-readers with video shown off
  2. YouTube - LiquavistaColor & Texas Instruments eReader demonstrator
  3. Get ready for the newsstand in your hand - Times Online
  4. Asus DR-570 e-reader: fresh details! | Electricpig
  5. BenQ Focuses on E-Readers | Top Tech Reviews
  6. InAVate - Tablet with butterfly wings – video included
  7. YouTube - E-Books: Mirasol Display Attempts to Trump E Ink
  8. iRex promise color ebook reader in 2011: 3x brighter than rivals - SlashGear
  9. Color and Video Coming to Kindle? Partner Shows New Screens - PCWorld
  10. YouTube - Color and video coming to Kindle? Partner shows new screens
  11. Hands-On With Fujitsu’s FLEPia Color eReader
  12. YouTube - Notebooks.com First Look at the Fujitsu Color Ebook Reader
Related:
  1. Liquavista - Electrowetting based low power, always viewable color video displays
  2. Liquavista colour e-reader in action! | Electricpig
  3. Liquavista intros color e-paper prototype; developer kit available soon | The Toybox | ZDNet.com
  4. ASUS DR-570 e-reader to sport 6-inch OLED color screen, 122 hours of battery life -- Engadget
  5. ASUS DR-570 color e-book reader gets detailed -- Engadget
  6. SiPix Microcup® Electronic Paper
  7. BenQ looks to color eReader rather than iPad clone - SlashGear
  8. BenQ: colour e-reader out 2010 | Electricpig
  9. BenQ Chooses E-reader Path Over IPad - Yahoo! News
  10. BenQ Global - Home
  11. mirasol® Displays | mirasol® Display Technology (IMOD) by Qualcomm
  12. How mirasol Displays Work: Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) Drive IMOD Reflective Technology | mirasol® Displays
  13. LinkNotes: Qualcomm's Mirasol Color E-Reader
  14. iRex announces development of colour device for 2011 delivery - MobileRead Forums
  15. PVI shows 6" and 9.7" color E Ink prototypes, in talks with Amazon and B&N
  16. Fujitsu e-Book Reader Review - FLEPia Color eReader - Features of Fujitsu e-Reader | Reviews by TechnoTalks.com