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Black-and-white e-readers are limiting while full color LCD displays such as those in tablets like the iPad can be power hungry and tough on the eyes. That’s why Qualcomm is betting that a new hybrid device that bridge the two worlds could be in the hands of consumers early next year.

Qualcomm is on track to ship 5.7-inch displays in the next few weeks that can shift between black-and-white and color, Jim Cathey, vice-president of business development for Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, told Wired.com.

These displays called ‘Mirasol’ will first go to device makers who are likely to introduce new products based on it early next year, says Cathey.

Last year, e-readers were one of the fastest growing consumer electronics products. But intense competition and pressure from Apple iPad has put many smaller e-reader makers out of business. Meanwhile, many consumers remain undecided when it comes to choosing between e-readers and tablets. Consumers want the convenience of a low power, display that’s lightweight and easy on the eye, with the advantage of a color screen.

With Mirasol, Qualcomm is hoping it can give companies such as Amazon that are reportedly looking beyond black-and-white e-readers an attractive option.

Mirasol displays work by modulating an optical cavity to reflect the desired wavelength of light. The reflected wavelength is proportional to the cavity’s depth. Mirasol screens looks more like glossy scientific books rather a full color LCD screen. But the displays consume very little power, are bistable and can play video.

Over the next few months, Qualcomm hopes to ramp up production of the displays. Qualcomm is building a new $2 billion Mirasol production plant in Taiwan, according to a report in DigiTimes.

A “major client has already started the design-in process,” using Mirasol, says DigiTimes.

See Also:

• Qualcomm Aims to Bring Color, Video to E-Readers
• Gallery: E-Readers Push Boundaries of Books
• 5 Things That Will Make E-Readers Better in 2010
• Up Close and Personal With the Pixel Qi Display
• Thin Film Turns Any Surface Into a Touchscreen

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Well, if this isn’t a statement of intent, we don’t know what is. Those good old market sources are reporting today that Qualcomm has set aside a cool $2 billion to build a new Mirasol display production plant in Taiwan. The chipmaker already has a Mirasol facility in Longtan, a joint venture with Foxlink, but is said to be the sole investor in this new build. The whole thing has apparently been spurred on by a major client having “already started the design-in process” after seeing production samples of the 5.7-inch, low power, color display. We can’t know for sure who that client may be, but Qualcomm’s been doing some real heavy flirting with Amazon and all those overtures might (might!) finally have paid off. Of couse, as Jeff Bezos himself said, a color Kindle isn’t likely to hit the market anytime soon, and this new factory isn’t expected to begin volume production until 2012, but we’ll take a slow and speculative roadmap over no roadmap at all.

Qualcomm building a $2b Mirasol plant after winning ‘major client’? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch out Kmart, CVS is getting its very own $100 smartbook and $180 e-reader and there’s nothing you can do about it! We’ve gotten a hold of some marketing materials which confirm that this fall your neighborhood drugstore will be stocking a Sylvania netbook running Windows CE and a color e-reader. There aren’t too many details on the little laptop itself, although we can only guess that the thing will be very similar to many of the other cheap smartbooks we’ve seen lately. Oh, it does claim to be able to stream video / YouTube, but we’ll believe it when we see it play Bieber’s Segway escape without freezing up. There are a few more details on the 7-inch LookBook e-reader after the break, but it will pack 512MB of storage space, a full keyboard and will have access to Kobo’s e-book store. Seems like some good old cheap tech to us, but we’re willing to bet that more than a few CVS shoppers will be tempted to throw one of these into the basket along with the deodorant and shampoo.

Continue reading CVS to sell $100 Sylvania netbook and $179 e-reader this fall, Tylenol not included

CVS to sell $100 Sylvania netbook and $179 e-reader this fall, Tylenol not included originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s probably in large part due to the design, but the Entourage Edge never has taken off the way Barnes & Noble’s Nook or Amazon’s Kindle has. But now, that all has a chance to change. The dual-screen e-reader has finally had its very own root canal, and it’s probably the easiest root process we’ve ever seen. The crafty folks over at Android Police were able to tap into the Edge’s inner workings by entering a simple code into the Debug menu, and from there, it’s a few short steps to installing Superuser. The purpose? To restart the imagination of owners, and to snag Android 2.2, the Android Market and a couple of overclocking opportunities if they’re lucky. Head on past the break for a quick video, and then dart to the source link if you’re itching to replicate this on your own device.

Continue reading Entourage Edge gets rooted with ease, may get a bit more exciting

Entourage Edge gets rooted with ease, may get a bit more exciting originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s about that time, folks. And by “about that time,” we mean “time for Sony to release another round of Readers.” If you’ll recall, the outfit dumped a few on us last year right around this time, and the sleuths over at Sony Insider have dug up information that they purport to be true about Sony’s next Reader duo. Reportedly, the outfit is gearing up to reveal the PRS-350 and PRS-650, each of which will boast E Ink displays and be thinner / more longevous compared to the existing PRS-600 and PRS-300. It’s bruited that they’ll be under 10mm thick, while the 650 will boast a 6-inch display and the 350 a 5-inch panel. We should also see a bump from 512MB to 2GB in terms of internal storage space (at least on the 650), and we wouldn’t be shocked to find both 3G and WiFi support on the higher end of the two. As for software? We’re told that the Reader UI will be refaced somewhat, and the note-taking program in the PRS-600 will find its way onto the lower-end PRS-350. Mum’s the word on pricing, but it shouldn’t be too long before all that gets cleared up — think it over good, Sony. We’ve got options, you know.

Sony Reader PRS-350 and PRS-650 rumored for release, 3G teased for the latter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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