Archive for the ‘mirasol color display’ tag
Mirasol-based ereader launched in Korea no comments
Kyobo Book Centre, Korea’s largest bookseller, has launched a new color ereader utilizing Qualcomm’s mirasol display. 
Unlike LCD displays, mirasol display technology is reflective rather than backlit and therefore has the potential to be used in color ereaders and tablets that are easier on the eyes than those with LCD displays. Sunlight is also no enemy of mirasol, which is completely viewable under bright lighting conditions. Like other reflective display technologies, mirasol also enjoys excellent battery life.
The Kyobo e-Reader features a 5.7-inch mirasol touchscreen display in XGA format (1024 x 768) with a resolution of 223 ppi. The new ereader runs a customized version of Android 2.3 on Qualcomm’s 1.0 GHz Snapdragon S2 processor.
Size of the device is 6.85 x 4.68 x .51 inches and it weighs just under 12 ounces. Slightly smaller and a couple of ounces lighter than the Kindle Fire.
The Kyobo e-Reader is priced at KRW349,000 ($310 USD), with discounts for members of Kyobo’s loyalty program. Kyobo’s ebookstore currently has around 90,000 titles.
Last year there was speculation that Amazon or another large player would launch a color ereader with a mirasol display, which of course didn’t happen. The last mirasol demos I saw were at SID 2011 and included a number of simulated ereading apps. I was rather disappointed by the readability; most of the demos I had seen prior to that concentrated on mirasol’s skills at displaying color images. Indeed, shortly after SID, Qualcomm canceled plans for a mirasol-based ereader that probably would have been out by now. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said at the time that he was not happy using the then current generation of mirasol in the planned ereader.
Possibly Related Posts:
Looking for color ereaders at CES 2011 no comments
I just got back from spending a day and a half at CES. 
The disappointing news was that there was no new color ereader announced that would be hitting the shelves here soon. I did get to see demos of three color ereaders using reflective display tech: Mirasol from Qualcomm, Hanvon’s color ereader using a color e-ink display from E Ink Holdings, and the color ereader manufactured by Delta Electronics using Bridgestone’s QR-LPD (AeroBee) display. Curiously, Liquavista did not seem to have a display this year, and the company has not even sent out any recent press releases.
Apologies on the quality of the videos – CES is extremely crowded and noisy. It also didn’t help that I started loosing my voice by the end of the first day.
Qualcomm’s Mirasol display definitely looks like the best by far of the reflective color display technologies for dedicated ereaders. The colors on both the color e-ink and QR-LPD displays were very muted. The QR-LPD display took a long time to refresh and the color e-ink seemed slower than the monochrome version as well. The QR-LPD based ereader has a touchscreen that requires a stylus. At times it seemed not very responsive, but this could have just been the demo unit – these things take a lot of abuse.
Vivitek will be distributing the Delta Electronics/Bridgestone ereader in China this year. At the booth I was told that they hope to bring it to the US in the second half of 2011. There are two sizes: an 8.2-inch model and a 13.1-inch model that seems more targeted at business users. The resolution of the QR-LPD displays is not very high: 480 x 384 for the 8.2 inch and only 800 x 600 for the 13.1-inch display. Bridgestone’s display technology will also be used for signage.
Hanvon’s color ereader will be available in China in a few months and most likely come to the US later this year.
We should see Mirasol-based ereaders some time this year from some as of yet undisclosed ereader maker (quite possibly PocketBook). Of the other technologies, I like the Liquavista display demo I saw last year better than either the color e-ink or QR-LPD solutions.
As expected there were tablets galore at this year’s CES. I really liked the Motorola tablet shown in the video below. Its guardian at the Motorola booth said that the Xoom is what the engineers at Google have and are using to develop Android 3 (Honeycomb) on (not sure if it is the only tablet they are using). This is also one of the few new tablets that comes close to matching the iPad’s battery life. Verizon will be the service provider for the Xoom tablet and it is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2011.
Another very interesting tablet from an ereading perspective is the Android-based LT-W Cloud Communicator from NEC. This is a dual 7-inch screen device that is very portable and versatile. When web browsing you can display one page in either portrait or landscape mode across both screens or have separate windows open in each screen. You can also do things like show a whole document on one screen while zooming in for a closer view on the second screen. The dual displays can either work together on one project or on separate projects. When reading ebooks the LT-W displays one page on each screen just like an open pbook. I was impressed with the LT-W and will do a separate post on it.
And finally, a couple of small bits of news I heard while touring the booths:
I was told at the M-Edge booth that the company presently has no plans to produce the waterproof Guardian Case for the Kindle 3. They were eager instead to focus my attention on their new product – MyEdge – a new service that will let you design and personalize your own Kindle and Nook jackets for about $40 and iPad jackets for $50.
At the OverDrive booth I was told that an iPad optimized version of the OverDrive Media Console that will include support for ebooks should at last be available by the end of Q1. In the meantime you can of course use the iPhone app, but it is not optimal.
Possibly Related Posts:
Qualcomm Mirasol fab may start production next year no comments
According to DigiTimes, the fabrication plant that will finally enable Qualcomm to begin mass production of its Mirasol reflective color displays will be ready to start production in about a year from now.
The new fabrication facility, which was originally announced about a year and a half ago, just got approval from the appropriate Taiwanese government agency in the past few days.
Reportedly Qualcomm can currently produce its Mirasol displays in volume in sizes of up to 5.7 inches, although whether it could make enough to support a popular ereader using the screen is unclear. There have been rumors recently that PocketBook would be announcing a new Mirasol-based ereader at CES, but there has been nothing official yet.
Possibly Related Posts:
eReader & Tablet News – 11/24/2010 no comments
OverDrive has announced that they now have Johanna Skibsrud’s The Sentimentalists, winner of the Giller Prize, available for Canadian libraries. The ebook is available at Kobo, but only for Canadian customers. This is really too bad — the author is probably missing out on a lot of sales due to this silliness.
At Amazon UK, The Sentimentalists
* * *
OverDrive recently announced that next month it will finally be releasing an iPhone app that will let you read borrowed library ebooks on your iPhone. Supposedly iPad and Android apps are forthcoming as well. OverDrive has been taking its sweet time with these reading apps.
Now there is an alternative, for the iPad and iPhone at least. The Bluefire reader is free at iTunes and supports Adobe DRM. You should be able to read not only ebooks from your library (as long as their digital books use Adobe DRM), but ebooks purchased from many online sellers.
Bluefire also supports PDF files and includes a Get Books feature that lets you purchase ebooks from within the app. It would be nice if an Android version is also in the works.
* * *
Pocketbook accidentally released a press release yesterday in which they inadvertently revealed they would have a new Mirasol-powered ereader on show at CES 2011. Nate at The Digital Reader was told by a source at Pocketbook that the Mirasol based ereader will not be released until Q3 2011.
* * *
Yesterday Amazon launched Amazon.it, its new Italian-language site. Amazon.it launched with more categories than any previous Amazon website has had at launch.
"On August 3, 1995, we shipped our first order to Italy from the U.S.," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "A customer in Genova ordered a book called ‘Ranks of Bronze’. Since then, we’ve shipped millions of items across a broad range of categories to customers in Italy, from our websites around the world. We are now excited to open our virtual doors directly to Italian customers."
* * *
Pandigital has a new color LCD ereader. The new model
has a 9-inch LCD touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. Overall size of the new ereader is 5 x 7 x 0.5 inches and it weighs in at a hefty 20.5 ounces. Format support includes ePub and PDF as well as music and picture files. The Barnes & Noble ebookstore is the official content partner.
The 9-inch Pandigital ereader is $213.80 at QVC.
* * *
Sony will finally have a reading app for Android and the iPhone available in December. This according to a new page at the Reader Store. It’s about time!
* * *
Yasmin Studios has released an interactive version of Snow White for the iPad. Snow White – Children’s Interactive Storybook HD features graphics and animation, professional narration, optional music and characters that can be moved and respond to touch.
Snow White – Children’s Interactive Storybook HD is available at iTunes for $0.99. Yasmin Studios also has several other children’s ebook apps available.
* * *
Bondi Digital Publishing has put every copy of Playboy magazine published from 1953 to 2010 on a hot-swappable USB hard drive that you can buy for $299.95. There are over 650 issues and more than 100,000 pages.
Possibly Related Posts:
Tablet & eReader News – 11/08/2010 no comments
iOS 4.2 is almost here for the iPad! We don’t know when for sure, but there are rumors that the new OS will be released to the general public this week. Some of the new features that iOS 4.2 will bring to the iPad: multitasking, folders to organize your apps into, direct printing to a Wi-Fi printer, a unified email inbox, additional international keyboard (over 30 new languages) and dictionary support and enhanced enterprise support.
The iPad will also receive some accessibility enhancements. These include the ability to output Braille to over 30 supported Bluetooth Braille displays in more than 25 languages. iOS 4.2 will also add the ability to control VoiceOver using a wireless keyboard.
* * *
Qualcomm MEMS director of marketing Cheryl Goodman 
was interviewed about biomimicry and the Mirasol display by KPBS radio recently and you can listen to the podcast at the KPBS website. The podcast is about 20 minutes and, no, Ms Goodman does not spill the beans about which ereader will be the first to have a Mirasol display.
* * *
Sony today announced that the Sony Daily Edition PRS-950 ereader is now available at Sony Style and other retailers. The Daily Edition features a 7-inch e-ink Pearl display and is the only one of the new Sony ereaders to feature a wireless connection.
Sony is also offering a $75 dollar credit when you trade in your old ereader.
* * *
Blackboard has released Blackboard Mobile Central (BMC) for Android smartphones. BMC is custom built and branded for each educational institution, and the new Android app is making its debut at Northwestern University.
The new Android application will include Athletics, Courses, Directory, Library, Maps, News, Get Help and Links, with other features to be added soon. Developed as a native application exclusive to the Android platform, Blackboard Mobile Central for the Android leverages the device’s unique features to provide an engaging user experience, including:
- Widgets, an Android-specific feature that allows users to quickly and easily access important information from Blackboard Mobile Central at a glance from their home screen.
- Shortcuts, which let users create a direct shortcut to any one of the Blackboard Mobile Central modules directly on their phone’s home screen so that it can be accessed immediately without even opening the app.
For more information about Blackboard Mobile Central, please visit: http://www.blackboard.com/Mobile/Mobile-Central.aspx
* * *
Possibly Related Posts:
eReader & Tablet News 8/21/2010 no comments
Another busy week for ereaders and tablets and all things related. Some of the things I didn’t get to cover elsewhere:
The shipping date for new orders of the latest
generation Kindle 3 has been pushed back again. If you place an order now, your Kindle 3 will be shipping on September 17.
* * *
Overheard at a Kobo company party (via eBooknewser) – the Kobo ereader is rumored to have another price cut coming by Christmas and will be reduced to $99.
Although Barnes & Noble is sometimes credited with starting the brief ebook reader price war that resulted in $139 Kindles and $149 NOOKs, Kobo actually lit the fuse when they released their eReader for $149 – as has been noted by Nate over at The Digital Reader and proudly proclaimed by Kobo itself.
So will this start a new round of price slashing? Not likely. At its current price of $149, the Kobo eReader is too high when compared to the wireless only versions of the Kindle and NOOK as it is a more basic ereader with less features and is based on older hardware. It should be priced at $99 now.
Kobo has also just announced a new way to win a free Kobo eReader. All you need to do for a chance to win one of three eReaders is to follow @Kobo on Twitter. This contest will end on August 30, 2010. All the details and fine print that you could possibly want can be had at Kobo.com.
* * *
Digitimes is reporting that Qualcomm is going to set up a production facility for its Mirasol color displays at the Central Taiwan Science Park in Longtan, Taiwan. Digitimes says that volume production of the 5.7-inch screen that Mirasol has been sampling should begin in early 2012.
Excuse me, but what about the press release from Mirasol dated June 6, 2009, in which Mirasol said that a dedicated fabrication plant built in collaboration with Foxlink and at the same location had commenced operations.
I guess that earlier facility must have only been for making the samples.
If Mirasol is not going to have their color display ready until 2012 I think we can count them out of being used in the first color ereaders. Actually, isn’t the world supposed to end in 2012? We may none of us live long enough to see an actual Mirasol display in an actual product!
E Ink Holdings now appears likely to hold the distinction of being the first color epaper. Hanvon has already been reported as readying an ereader using a color E Ink display for release later this year. Amazon, are you really going to sit by and let Hanvon beat you to market with a color ereader?
* * *
Velocity Micro has the Cruz Reader up for pre-order at its website with an expected shipping date of early September. The Cruz tablet is also available to pre-order and will ship in late September. The Storypad children’s ereader does not yet have a pre-order option, and is still shown as “coming soon.”
The Cruz Reader is available for pre-order at Fry’s, Neweggand Borders; the Cruz Tablet is available at Borders.
* * *
While I’m not a particular fan of People Magazine, I am a fan of the way in which they are treating their subscribers. Readers who subscribe to the paper edition will now have free access to the digital version on the iPad.
This is something that I think all magazine publishers should offer, or at the very least you should be able to switch from the paper to the digital format if you wish. Apparently this is not only in the hands of the magazine publishers however.
The NYT reports that because Apple is supposed to get a cut of any app sold through iTunes, some rather long negotiations were required before Time Inc., publisher of People, was able to offer the free digital edition on the iPad. Print subscribers will now be able to enter a verification code to receive the People app at no charge. Time reportedly wants to offer the same type of deal for other magazines it publishes.
* * *
At its latest earnings call yesterday, HP announced that it will be releasing both a Windows-based and a Palm WebOS-based tablet. There were rumors a few months ago that HP had killed its Windows 7 tablet.
(via FT Techblog)
* * *
The Scott Pilgrim comic book series by Bryan O’Malley is now available as an iPad and iPhone app. This is actually a reading app for the comics which gives you some free sample content and from which you can purchase the six volumes in the series.
The first five volumes are $6.99 each and the sixth and final volume is $11.99. Volumes you purchase can also be accessed via the comiXology website on your PC or mobile device.
The Scott Pilgrim series became a NYT bestseller and was adapted into a favorably reviewed film starring Michael Cera and directed by Edgar Wright.
* * *
Verizon has announced (via GigaOM) that it will be releasing an app early next year that will allow its FiOS subscribers to watch programming on their iPads. Initially the iPad app will only allow you to watch content within your own home. Verizon is also working on a video-on-demand application that should work across multiple devices.
Meanwhile, HBO has nixed any hopes that it would join the Netflix stable of streaming video partners. Instead it appears that HBO will probably create its own streaming service.
Besides a number of popular series of its own, HBO also owns the exclusive streaming rights to content from Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal. (via eCommerce Times)
