PC Mag
While there are plenty of ebook readers on the market, almost all of them have black-and-white displays. Chinese company Hanvon wants to change that. The company is expected to unveil the first tablet with a color E Ink screen on Tuesday at the FPD International 2010 trade show in Tokyo, the New York Times has reported.
According to the Times, 90 percent of the ebook readers on the market use monochrome display technology from the company E Ink. Hanvon will be the first company to showcase E Ink's color capabilities. E Ink's color screen is made by fitting the original black-and-white display with a color filter.
Last month, Barnes and Noble announced the Nook color, but the 7-inch screen uses LCD technology, similar to what is used in televisions and computer screens. Like many tablets on the market, Apple's iPad also uses LCD technology.
The benefits of using E Ink as opposed to LCD are that E Ink uses less battery power and can be read in direct sunlight without glare. According to the Times article, the color E Ink that will be featured on Hanvon's e-reader isn't the same quality as LCD technology on, say, an iPad, however. The colors aren't as vivid, and appear to be more muted, and the screen can't support video. This is why Amazon, for example, hasn't yet embraced color E Ink on its Kindle e-reader.
"I'm convinced that a lot of times it takes one company to prove the market," Sriram K. Peruvemba, a vice president for E Ink, told the Times.
The iPad has been available in China since Sept. 17. Hanvon's new ebook reader will go on sale in China in March for around $440. Hanvon president Liu Yingjian said the product, fitted with a 9.68-inch color screen and Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, might be sold in the U.S. later. Hanvon, the number one ebook reader outfitter in China, sells some products in the U.S., both online and through electronics retailer Fry's.
