Hasta La Gadget!

E Ink is grabbing a majority share of fellow e-paper maker SiPix Technology, the company has confirmed, and aims to snatch up 100-percent of shares in a deal worth around $50m. The agreement, which his expected to be  finalized by the end of the year, is part of E Ink’s aim to corner the e-paper market, and will see SiPix tech – including that of its SiPix Imagine subsidiary – integrated into future E Ink products.

E Ink is already found in the vast majority of ereaders, including the Kindle, NOOK, Sony Reader and more. However, that market has seen significant attack from the growing number of tablets such as Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and the new Google Nexus 7, with LCD displays proving more flexible for multimedia beyond text alone.

“Today, E Ink’s products are finding homes in a number of new applications which can be better served with the inclusion of SiPix’s products, technologies and intellectual property to our portfolio” Felix Ho, vice chairman of E Ink said of today’s deal. The company will initially include SiPix displays in the overall range it offers, but plans to integrate more of the behind-the-scenes technology – perhaps including slow video-capable e-paper – into future products.

That could also mean more use of e-paper in embedded environments, with E Ink keen to emphasize the low power consumption of its panels as ideal for its “E Ink On Every Smart Surface” strategy. Possibilities include tablet cases – such as Apple’s recent display-integrated Smart Cover concept – and other implementation where power supply could be insufficient or impractical for LCD or OLED.

Initially, E Ink will buy 82.7-percent of SiPix’s shares, though the goal is to buy 100-percent.

E Ink grabs majority share in SiPix for e-paper dominance is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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It looks like Bookeen may finally be through teasing us — the company is preparing to unleash the Odyssey, a reader sporting its High Speed Ink System. The modified Pearl E Ink screen has been shown off multiple times, playing back video and browsing the web. Now it will finally make the transition from interesting tech demo to actual product. Better yet, the 6-inch, full motion-capable screen has been paired with a touch layer, which means it could deliver a tablet-like experience with battery life closer to a traditional e-reader. Underneath the hood is a an 800MHz Cortex A8 processor from Texas Instruments and a WiFi radio, presumably for downloading content and browsing the web. The Odyssey is expect to start shipping in Europe in the next few weeks, but Bookeen has yet to reveal a price. You can check out the machine translated PR at the source link.

Cybook prepping Odyssey reader with High Speed Ink System screen originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready for another new Kindle moniker to remember? Here it comes! “Kindle Keyboard.” That’s the name that was bestowed upon the tried-and-true 6-incher today after Bezos unwrapped a touchscreen model and a low-cost variant that tout no physical QWERTY keys whatsoever. Now, the WiFi-only Kindle is going for as low as $99 with ads (down from $114), while the non-ads edition can be had for $139. Meanwhile, the 3G + WiFi Special Offers edition has fallen from $164 to $139, and the ad-free brother is going for $189. Naturally, all four of ’em are in stock and shipping today if the new blood just didn’t do much for ya.

Continue reading Amazon discounts ‘original’ 6-inch Kindle Keyboard: now starting at $99

Amazon discounts ‘original’ 6-inch Kindle Keyboard: now starting at $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Hands-on with the Sony Reader Wi-Fi (video)

Hands-on with the Sony Reader Wi-Fi (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can never be too prepared. Whether you’re being chased by brain sucking zombies, hunted down by ruthless killer robots, or — more likely — the victim of an earthquake or other natural disaster. There’s only one phone you really need, and that’s the MOTOFONE F3. Forget your smartphone and its fancy pants features, forget the internet — when the apocalypse strikes your survival might depend on a durable handset with great battery life and just the basics, which is exactly what the MOTOFONE F3 delivers. Introduced in 2006 for developing markets, it makes and takes calls, sends and receives text messages, beeps and vibrates, stores and recalls your most important contacts, and includes an alarm clock — that’s it.

Of course, these specs describe almost every simple phone launched since SMS was added to the GSM standard. What makes the MOTOFONE F3 unique is that it uses a segmented e-paper display which sips power and remains legible in both direct sunlight and dark back alleys, along with dual antennae for superior radio performance. Battery life is absolutely incredible, with over 2 weeks in standby and several months powered off. Motorola also designed the handset to be light (68g), thin (9mm) and strong — it’s resistant to shock, dust and moisture, with a sealed keypad and speaker (which is extremely loud). The best part? You can pick one up online, unlocked, for as little as $25.

Check out our gallery below, and whatever you do, don’t be like our protagonist in the zombie apocalypse video after the break — don’t leave your SIM at home.

Psst… yeah, we know this phone’s ancient, but every now and then we like to reach back and have a little fun. And, you know, escape a looming zombie horde.

Continue reading MOTOFONE F3, the zombie apocalypse survival phone (video)

MOTOFONE F3, the zombie apocalypse survival phone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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