Hasta La Gadget!

The details are few with this one but really it’s the highlights that matter here: Bookeen has managed to get smooth full-motion video to play on an E Ink Pearl display. Yes, the same sort that delivers agonizingly slow refreshes on the latest Kindles and such. It’s a simple H.264-encoded clip (the same one with the chubby rabbit you’ve probably seen a dozen times before) played on a TI OMAP3621 processor. Power consumption in this mode is said to be no more than a non-backlit LCD, which is quite frugal indeed. No word on which actual readers this will debuting in, but according to E-Ink-Info.com it will be “available on the next-gen e-readers to appear soon.” Check out the demo embedded below.

Continue reading Bookeen shows off FMV on a standard E Ink Pearl display (video)

Bookeen shows off FMV on a standard E Ink Pearl display (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E-readers are flooding the market these days, and KDDI has delivered its most recent offering just in time for the holiday season. Since the biblio Leaf SP02‘s specs were first released, battery life seems to have grown to 13,000 pages, with presumably a few extra thrown in courtesy of its solar array. The device utilizes KDDI’s LISMO Book Store and its 20,000 titles to obtain content, and if that isn’t enough reading material for you, the company claims that five times as many titles will be available by 2012. All this can be had on Christmas day — if you’re lucky enough to hail from the land of the rising sun, that is.

Update: Details on the e-reader, much like the device itself, seem to have gotten lost in translation. As a few readers have pointed out — and our own Engadget Japanese editor Ittousai confirms — the SP02 has an “open” price of around ¥15,000 (about $180 in US currency), with 3G prices ranging from ¥525 per month for data on a two-year contract, or ¥1,575 without ($6.28 vs. $19, respectively).

KDDI’s biblio Leaf SP02 priced, due out Christmas Day in Japan (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Months back, word on the street had it that HTC was looking to grab up emptied space in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park post-recession; huge outfits like Nortel bit the bullet in 2009, while Sony Ericsson shuttered its operations there and relocated to Atlanta. Naturally, the consolidation paved the way for other technology firms to slide in without overpaying for real estate. HTC has remained mum on the prospect of expansion, but it’s fairly obvious what’s in mind given the multiple job listings that have just emerged for a heretofore unannounced facility in RTP. Of particular importance is a plea for a Display and Camera Design Engineer — HTC is asking that whoever applies for the role have some level of “familiarity with 3D display and imaging technologies,” not to mention “familiarity with multiple display technologies (TFT-LCD, PMOLED, AMOLED, E-ink, etc.).” Of course, we’ve seen quite a few bullet points in our years that end up meaning nothing at all, but it definitely gets our gears turning. Could HTC be working on a reader / tablet that would at least partially rely on e-paper? Are we destined to see a 3D Android device from the outfit at Mobile World Congress 2011? Imaginations, here’s the part where you run wild.

HTC job listing hints at an E Ink / 3D-filled future, new North Carolina facility originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 01:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Does the time you spend at work away from your e-reader leave you crippled with the E Ink shakes? Well the good news is that Seiko’s gorgeous atomic clock-syncing ‘active matrix’ E Ink watch we covered a while back is now available for pre-order via Amazon Japan. The bad news is that it’s priced at ￥84,000 (on sale) — which equates to roughly $1,022 based on current exchange rates. That’s about five times more than Phosphor’s latest 24 hour time zone mastering E Ink watch, or nearly enough cheddar to a buy one of Amazon’s latest Kindles for everyday of the work week. Really, though, the price isn’t too surprising coming from a respected watch company like Seiko, especially when you take into account its schmancy 180 degree viewing angle, geek-chic looks, and radio-controlled movement. Don’t be misled by the ‘active matrix’ terminology however, because a matching leather trench coat isn’t part of this deal.

[Thanks, P-A]

Seiko’s ‘active matrix’ E Ink watch now up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If the paper trail for this handset wasn’t enough for you, here’s the first official imagery of the Samsung Zeal. It is, as speculated, a dual-hinge, dual-display affair, equipped with an E Ink keyboard that transitions from a four-row QWERTY arrangement to a dialpad depending on orientation. If you’re thinking you’ve seen this before, that might be because you were one of the few to notice Samsung’s Alias 2, which also called Verizon its home. The Zeal is expected to arrive in stores on November 11th, so you can expect this premature little cameo to be augmented with full specs and a price very soon indeed.

Update: The leak has turned into a full-on press release. The Zeal will cost $79.99 on a two-year contract (after a $50 mail-in rebate) and will be available in stores and online starting on November 11th, as expected. Skip past the break for the full announcement. Having checked it out for ourselves, we’ve found that this isn’t like the Alias 2, this is the Alias 2 … but in black. Shame on Verizon and Samsung for building up our interest for what’s essentially a soft relaunch with a freshened up nomenclature.

Continue reading Samsung Zeal and its dual-hinge design now official on Verizon: $79.99 (updated)

Samsung Zeal and its dual-hinge design now official on Verizon: $79.99 (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 05:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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