Engadget has posted a short review of the Kindle DX Graphite. They say that this is a good evolutionary step for the Kindle DX, and the new display has a great contrast ratio, and a better refresh rate when compared to the previous version.
The Graphite Kindle DX is now shipping for $379.
Zikon has developed a new kind of nano-technology based electronic-ink display. They say it can be cheaper than E Ink (as it can be printed more easily and does not require encapsulation)and is much faster (and can show videos). They estimate that simple displays can be made within 1 year - and are considering making a "color-changing" fingernail (or nail-polish, really). Here's a short interview with their CTO explaining how this all works:
Delta electronics is showing their upcoming color e-reader, and they hope to release it in December 2010. It has a 13.1" color display, based on Bridgestone's e-paper technology. The e-reader supports pen input. Delta claims that the display's refresh rate is faster than in E Ink displays.
There are reports that Amazon plans to introduce the next-generation Kindle in August. The new device will be slimmer, and have a better display - more responsive and with a sharper picture. It won't have a color display, nor a touch one.
Fujitsu says they have developed a new color e-paper, that's brighter, has a better contrast and refresh rate compared to their previous technology. Fujitsu utilized a redesigned panel structure and image re-write methods to create these new e-paper displays.
E Ink is showing their next-generation e-paper technology. It will have better contrast, and will be able to show "animation" clips. It will be in production in the second half of 2010 (and obviously it'll take some time before real products start shipping with it, but they might start to appear towards the end of 2010). They still haven't got a name for that display...
Liquavista is based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and was founded in 2006 (a spin-out from Philips Research Labs). They have developed a new type of display technology that can operate in transmissive, reflective or transflective modes, has a great optical performance and is very efficient. Liquavista's display are based on the principle of Electrowetting (when a voltage is used to modify the wetting properties of a solid material). With Electrowetting displays, a simple optical switch is obtained by contracting a colored oil film electrically.
Johan Feenstra, Liquavista's CTO, was kind enough to answer a few questions we had. Johan joined Philips Research Labs back in 1999, where he co-invented Electrowetting displays and co-founded Liquavista.
Q: Johan, can you explain Liquavista's three product families?
Sri Peruvemba from E Ink has talked to PC Magazine, and he gives some very interesting information. He expects color E Ink to arrive soon, and devices based on this technology would ship in the beginning of 2011. This color will be more like the color you would see in a newspaper, and not like an LCD display. We can expect more on this from E Ink at the SID show in May.
Sri also reveals that they are working on much-faster E Ink displays, but it can take around 2-3 years for such technology to show up in shipping products...
Freescale announced today a new processor called i.MX508 targeted for e-readers. The processor is based on an ARM A8 core and includes an E Ink controller. Freescale says that the chip is fast (800Mhz), efficient and cheap (less than $10 in large volumes). In fact they say that this chip can enable $150 e-readers.
The new chip is faster than Freescale's previous e-reader chips (used in the Amazon Kindle and Sony's Readers, for example) which can result in faster page refresh and can enable new features. As the chip includes an E Ink controller, USB and NAND memory it can help reduce the price of the final product.
PVI's chairman says that they plan to release color and flexible E Ink displays. They are also working on touch-enabled E Inks, and ones that support video. They predict that the market share of touch-capable e-readers will increase sharply in 2010. PVI wants to place the touch sensors behind the display, so image quality will be better.
PVI also reveals that E Ink's response time has increased, to the point where animation can be played.
