First off we have a side by side comparison of the Kindle’s screen with the Pixel Qi screen in epaper mode (courtesy Pixel Qi’s blog; click the image for the full resolution picture) -
Kindle Screen Vs Pixel Qi ePaper Mode
Next we have a mind-blowing video (courtesy charbax)- .
This changes everything – absolutely no doubt.
Forrester have a research report for $1999 (featured in a forthcoming post) that talks about full frame video on eReaders by 2011. Mr. Bezos talks about how color kindles are multiple years away.
2011? No – it’s here. Take a look at the video – those are screens out of a full fab, not some prototype.
Well, actually it’s going to be end 2009 for the first big batch of PixelQi screens and early 2010 for devices optimized for the Pixel Qi screen.
I love how in the video the Pixel QI COO, John Ryan says -
No, not out of the lab, it actually came out of a full fab … We can get to manufacturing tens of thousands of screens a day.
The future is here.
Will Amazon use Pixel Qi 3qi screens?
Don’t see any other option for Amazon. Also, why wouldn’t they? You have this amazing 3 mode screen that lets you switch between watching color videos and reading ebooks in epaper mode. There’s a backlight.
It really addresses some of the top criticisms of the Kindle i.e.
- Lack of color. With 3qi Kindles you could switch to color mode whenever you wanted.
- Lack of Video. That’s supported.
- Lack of functionality beyond reading. You can have a full fledged netbook + ereader.
- Lack of backlight.
The big challenge for Amazon will be to figure out how to still keep the focus on reading.
There are two additional drawbacks -
- It does not address Touch as touch still harms the readability. So we might be a long ways away from a touch 3qi screen.
- The screens are still expensive to manufacture i.e. somewhere below $200. So Color Kindles, if and when they’re made from 3qi screens, will probably be $100-$150 more than black and white Kindles.
John Ryan admits the Kindle’s eInk screen has some advantages -
- Kindle has a whiter white than we do.
- Draws less power.
He also talks of how 3qi screens have faster screen refresh which enables faster editing and being able to watch movies. He shows a somewhat slow looking ice hockey video.
PixelQi have brought us 2011 in 2009.
Instead of a $1,999 Forrester report talking about video epaper in 2011 you will be able to buy a sub $500 netbook/ereader with a Pixel Qi screen by end 2009. Hopefully Amazon adopts the technology and gets us a color Kindle 3 by early 2010.
Filed under: evolution, Pixel Qi 3qi Tagged: | future of epaper, pixel qi
[...] Pixel Qi have brought us the future – Pictures, Video [...]
Would this change the pricing and/or free WiFi model? Video would sure use a lot of bandwidth.
Obviously video streaming wouldn’t be supported on the Free Whispernet. There would probably be a paid video streaming option. However, that would be too expensive at least in 2009 and 2010.
Think more of a multi-purpose device.
These new Pixel Qi displays are extremely interesting. They are likely less attractive for the specific use of long-form reading than the Kindle’s current E-Ink displays, but they will offer a good reading experience for general purpose e-tablets, which could limit the market for dedicated reading devices. However, the color performance and power efficiency for these new displays remains a bit uncertain. We take a close look at the Pixel Qi photos in a fairly geeky post today at Kindle Zen: http://www.kindlezen.com/2009/06/the-pixel-qi-display-a-close-look-at-the-photos/
I don’t want *anything* with a backlight. I want to continue to be able to take the Kindle outside and it read like any paper book.
Who needs full motion video? If somebody wants all of this – get a netbook, it’s even smaller than the DX. The Asus 1000HE is only $383 at Amazon. Seriously, the Kindle should not aim to become another multimedia device. It should continue to be a READER of text. There’s different ways of improving that, but they shouldn’t become a bloated hardware multimedia device.