Hasta La Gadget!

E-readers as a whole best be watching their backs (or planning a wave of new functions, one), but it’s safe to say that having color displays would give ’em a leg-up on the retina-killing, battery-draining LCD-based alternatives. Plastic Logic is still working to get its first e-reader (the decidedly not color QUE, for those curious) into the paws of consumers, but already the outfit is planning for the next big thing. Achim Neu, Director SCM, recently spoke at the International Electronics Forum, reportedly stating that his company is aiming to “have a manufacturable color display by the end of 2011 and move it into volume production in 2012.” Details beyond that were scarce, but still, 2012 seems a long ways out — if Qualcomm can get its color Mirasol panel into shipping products, there’s a better than average chance that none of this will matter.

Plastic Logic plans 2012 launch for color e-paper display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu’s been dabbling in the color e-paper market for years, showing off prototype readers during a time when the iPad was simply a twinkle in the eye of Steve-o. Now, the e-reader realm as a whole is having to reevaluate itself with the explosion of multifaceted tablets, but we’re not giving up hope just yet — Qualcomm’s downright stunning color Mirasol display could turn the tables once more later this year, and Fujitsu’s new and improved color e-paper might do the same later this month. Scheduled to debut at the Fujitsu Forum in Japan, this newly developed color electronic paper utilizes a redesigned panel structure and image re-write methods, and there’s also an improved contrast ratio to boot. Unfortunately, there’s no public commercialization plans just yet, but we’re hoping it’ll hit a few products sooner rather than later — time’s a wastin’, Fujitsu!

Fujitsu breathes new life into color e-paper: brighter, faster, lovelier originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It took so long for electronic ink screens to finally hit the market we feel a bit silly getting impatient for the next-generation, but the Kindle has been on the market for a year and a half now, Sony Reader models for twice that long, and still we’re dealing with the same crummy 7:1 contrast ratio, 16 shade grayscale, and .74 second refresh rate. E Ink’s Sriram Peruvemba, however, is finally showing off next-generation models of the sort parent company PVI told us were coming, the first an improvement on existing screens that offers a 12:1 contrast ratio and a refresh rate fast enough for simple animations. Also shown is a larger, (slightly) flexible model rugged enough to take a meaty fist square in the face without blinking a single pixel. This version Peruvemba sees playing a major role in digital textbooks in the future. Unfortunately we still have a bit of time to wait for either, with the boosted contrast ratio model entering production later this year and the flexible one sometime in early 2011. Add another six months or so for devices using the things to make it to retail and hopes for a brighter, next-gen Kindle shipping by the holidays start to look a bit dim.

Continue reading E Ink shows off next-gen displays: high contrast, fast refresh, and rugged (video)

E Ink shows off next-gen displays: high contrast, fast refresh, and rugged (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two more contestants have joined the e-reader showdown, ViewSonic’s VEB620 and VEB625, and while the Plain Jane styling on these two won’t score very well in either the evening dress or swimsuit competitions, they could do just in the talent show portion thanks to native compatibility with PDF, along with ePub, RTF, and plain text. They also sport orientation sensors, so that content will automatically rotate on the 6-inch, 800 x 600 E-Ink screens, and offer 2GB of internal storage with SD expansion. At .24kg they weigh a little less than the latest Kindle (which weighs in at about .29kg), though they’re 2mm thicker (11 here vs. 9) and only the VEB625 sports WiFi connectivity. In Europe, where these are apparently now available, the higher-end model will set you back £205 ($315), while the non-wireless 620 is £175 ($269) — meaning they won’t win the affordability competition either.

ViewSonic getting literate with VEB620 and VEB625 e-readers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Beijing Gorld combines sub-par cellphone with lackluster e-reader

Beijing Gorld combines sub-par cellphone with lackluster e-reader originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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