Kyobo eReader's XGA Mirasol Display Could Challenge LCDs

SEOUL, South Korea -- A new electronic display is poised to challenge power-hungry LCDs after U.S. mobile chip maker Qualcomm Inc. teamed up with a South Korean bookseller to introduce a new e-reader.

The "Kyobo eReader" was unveiled this week in Seoul and will reach South Korean consumers as early as Dec. 1, Kyobo Book Centre officials said Thursday.

The e-reader features Qualcomm's 1.0 GHz "Snapdragon" processor, a custom Kyobo application based on Android and a 5.7 inch "XGA" mirasol display.

The mirasol display uses ambient light instead of its own in much the same way that a peacock's plumage gets its scintillating hues. Qualcomm's mirasols have already been used in a few Chinese and South Korean phones, and in an MP3 player on the U.S. market. The display contains tiny mirrors that consume power only when they're moving, easing battery drain. Mirasol displays also quickly change from one image to the next and show video.

The global market for e-readers is dominated by bright LCDs and grayscale "e-ink" screens. LCDs consume relatively more battery power while e-ink screens are slow to refresh.

The introduction of the e-reader jointly developed by Qualcomm and Kyobo signals increasing competition in the global market for tablets.

U.S. online retailer Amazon.com Inc. and bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. have recently released tablets of their own, Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, and are challenging Apple's iPad in pricing.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs noted South Koreans' near-100 percent literacy rate and digital reading skills during a launching ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday, according to the San Diego-based company. Fifteen-year-old South Koreans scored highest in their ability to absorb information from digital devices, according to a 2009 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Over 80 percent of households in South Korea have broadband Internet access.

The e-reader featuring the mirasol display will be priced at 349,000 won, or $302, said Seoul-based Kyobo, South Korea's largest bookseller.

Comments

[gmannxx45]

03:12 PM on 11/27/2011

Nice!

[jabailo]

10:56 PM on 11/26/2011

My $79 Kindle does what a reader is supposed to do.

Let me read clear crisp text in all lighting.

[labrat03]

10:05 PM on 11/25/2011

How much saved energy are we talking? 2x as much battery life?

[Madbunny]

09:24 PM on 11/25/2011

Most of my reading is books, with the occasional magazine article or comic thrown in for the heck of it.
If this display is anything like what it's supposed to be, I would absolutely jump on it provided I can use it with my existing e-books.

Ideally I'd be able to just connect into Amazon, since my wife and I both have kindles, but workarounds are always possible.

[DRaymond]

01:27 PM on 11/25/2011

Sadly the price is triple what Amazon is charging for the Kindle Touch and half again more than the Fire. The price is going to have to come down. If they can get the price of the mirasol screen in line with LCD they will have a real winner.

[moflard]

10:04 AM on 11/25/2011

This is very exciting. The display looks like it will be as restful as that of a Kindle but also able to show colour and video. For serious readers like myself this will be a godsend as I at least have always found reading on an LED display tiring for my eyes.

Jut two questions:-
1) When can I get one of these in Europe?
2) Whatever happened to electrowetting displays?

[MaybeMilo]

07:03 AM on 11/25/2011

There are still a lot of folks out there who think e-readers are a "techie fad."

I'm quite fond of mine - and we're just at the beginning of the revolution.

[Acert]

11:07 PM on 11/26/2011

They may not be a fad, but you've probably jumped the gun by calling them a "revolution." Many technologies have promised to eliminate paper in one way or another. So far, none have succeeded.

[savory1]

03:24 AM on 11/25/2011

I love Kindle and read as much as I can and have never had a problem with eye strain!

[FDRbyGodDemocrat]

06:31 PM on 11/24/2011

A successful e-reader will need to be some variation on e-ink. Any backlit device, by nature, won't work for a serious reader who may spend hours reading. Too much eye-fatigue, and lousy battery life. As simple as it is, the Kindle is still the best device I've tried (although I do use the iPad for magazine reading).

[Tom95134]

02:09 PM on 11/24/2011

This sounds like pastel e-ink. I know that e-ink has lost some of it's favor but for reading text there is nothing better. The image isn't scanned and provides a reading physiological experience very similar to reading a printed page. There is, IMO, less eye fatigue when reading e-ink displays.

[Gmasters]

05:02 PM on 11/27/2011

Eye Fatigue is more a matter of Pixel Density than anything else. The sad truth is that, while every other part of computer technology, memory, speed, etc., doubles every two years, Pixel Density in display devices has stayed almost constant for most of the last 20 years. Mostly because increasing the number of Pixels slows down the OS.

All the Increased speed of the processors has been eaten up by ever Fatter & Slower Windoze style Code with nothing left over for improving the readability of the Display.

20 years ago, we reached a "Good Enough" plateau for monitors and all the effort toward innovation since has gone in other directions.