Engadget posted an interesting review of the new Kindle DX. Basically they like it - it is rather similar to the Kindle 2, but with a larger and better screen.
The only problem? It costs a lot of money (489$, currently available for pre-order).
Digitimes reports that PVI, who makes the E Ink displays used in the Amazon Kindle and Sony's reader says that they are delaying the launch of a color E Ink display - till 2010 at least.
The good news is that there are rumors that Sony are working on an e-reader that uses the same 9.7" E Ink used by the new Kindle DX.
The rumors were true: Amazon has launched a new, larger Kindle e-book reader yesterday: the Kindle DX. The display is a large 9.7" 1200x824 (at 150 ppi) E Ink display, with 16 shades of gray. It will cost 489$, and it's available for pre-order.
Amazon kindle DX
The older Kindle 2 has a 6" E-Ink display, 600 x 800 pixels at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale, and is available now (for 360$). Here's a photo showing the size difference between the two gadgets:
Amazon Kindle 2 vs DXHere's the complete feature list of the new DX. Finally, another nice shot of the new Kindle DX:
Amazon Kindle DXA couple of weeks ago we reported that there are rumors Amazon will soon launch a new Kindle, with a larger display.
Kindle 2Several sites are reporting that in fact this new devices will be launched tomorrow. The screen will be large enough to read a newspaper - 9.7" (the Kindle 2 has a 6" display). In fact Amazon might be targeting this not for books, but indeed for newspapers. The NY Times will reportedly offer a 9.95$ a month subscription.
It will be interesting to see how much the new device will cost, as the current Kindle 2.0 costs 360$, and the E Ink display is the most expensive part (with a 60$ price tag)...
Samsung has a new phone, called the Alias 2, that is due soon, and has a keyboard in which each key is a small "display". Engadget now claims that they got it confirmed - it uses an E Ink display.
Samsung Alias2The phone is said to cost only 79$... It should be interesting to see how this story unfolds later this month.
Dutch company Endless Ideas is set to launch a new version of the BeBook e-reader. It will have a 5" E ink display (vs the original BeBook 6"). It will cost less than 200$.
The BeBook is manufactured by Chinese company Tianjin Jinke Electronics, which largely sells its readers under the Hanlin brand. That means the BeBook Mini will also be available as the Hanlin v5 Reader.
I just found out this funny little video of someone trying to see just how durable E Ink displays really are. Using the Esquire magazine issue with the E Ink, he tries scratching it, drilling holes through it, lighting it on fire and more... finally putting it in the micro oven seems to much for the poor display.
iSupply has made a teardown analysis of the Kindle 2, which sells for 360$. iSupply says it only costs 185.5$ to make.
Kindle 2The most expansive part is the E Ink display - estimated at 60$ (41.5% of the total material bill). It's a 6" diagonal screen, 600 x 800 pixels at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale.
The second most expensive part is the wireless module from Novatel (39.5$).
Polymer Vision's Readius, which was actually planned for release last year is delayed - because of financial difficulties.
The Readius has a 16-grayscale 320x240 5" e ink based display. When closed the size is 115x57x21mm, and when you open the display, it's 160x115x21mm.
It seems that Kindle 2 users are complaining that small fonts appear to have contrast issues on the E Ink display. This hasn't happened in the first Kindle version (which does not have font-smoothing algorithms and has less levels of gray). E Ink are not commenting on this...
E-Ink fonts problem in Amazon Kindle 2
