TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Could Qualcomm’s color-capable display tech beat out E Ink for e-book screens?

By Joshua Tallent of eBookArchitects.com

A similar article is at KindleFormatting.com.

Will Qualcomm’s color-capable mirasol display technology—shown in the left image and also discussed in a YouTube—beat out E Ink for e-book viewing? Or might another choice?

Some background: Stephen Windwalker wrote recently about the future of E Ink and what he expects we will see in versions of the Kindle coming in the next few years. He based his predictions on information from the makers of the e-paper screens and on the assumption that Amazon will stick with that technology indefinitely, and the predictions sound very plausible. My concern with that possible roadmap is that the "full-color" device Stephen mentions for 2011 will probably be quite anemic in actual color. The current color E Ink technology is limited to pastels, and from what I can tell will always look washed out and not true to the actual colors being displayed. The technology just seems flawed in that regard.

Note: As mentioned in the comments, I originally misread and misquoted Stephen in this post. After he graciously pointed that out to me, I have adjusted my previous thoughts. My sincerest apologies, Stephen.

The most interesting news recently is that PixelQi is developing a screen with three different settings: low-power black and white, e-paper, and full-color LCD. It sounds to me as if this technology has some great value and will become a contender in the marketplace. Add to that iReader Review’s guess that PixelQi might be providing Apple with screens for its rumored tablet/eBook device, and we have some tantalizing reasons to stay up with the news.

However, I’d like to point out that three screen display modes are still that: different display modes. Just because I am outside do I have to stop seeing color? That might work well on an OLPC laptop or tablet, but I like the best possible display on my devices.

That’s where a little-known and seemingly ignored technology comes into play. I don’t remember where I first heard of the Qualcomm mirasol display, but I am pretty sure it was not in relation to e-books. The mirasol technology is reflective like E Ink, but it is full-color with faster-than-video refresh rates. Yes, you heard me right. We could have an e-book device that uses the same power consumption as the current ones, but with color and video. Where do I sign up?

The bummer is that the technology is still in development. Qualcomm has successfully deployed monochrome screens, but apparently making the full-color ones is more difficult.

I think the major players in the e-book market are barking up the wrong tree. E Ink is fine for basic devices, but I would much prefer the mirasol screen to a washed-out, pastel, slow-refresh E Ink screen that we might possibly have in two years.

Here are some interesting pictures of the full-color screen in different lighting situations.

Joshua Tallent is an e-book guru located in Austin, Texas. His company, eBook Architects, provides e-book formatting and consulting to authors and publishers, as well as information about the Kindle eBook format at KindleFormatting.com. Joshua is also the author of Kindle Formatting: The Complete Guide.