A teleread post (http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/30/wifi-on-the-kindle-via-a-tivo-adapter-someday/) has links to comments suggesting that the Kindle has a 1st generation E-Ink screen and not a 2nd generation Vizplex. Is there a way to tell for sure? I certainly assumed (based on its release date) that it is Vizplex. In any case, the point being made is that the PRS-505 has noticeably better contrast than the Kindle. Is this is the case, and if so why (hardware, e.g. better screen or more grey scales, or perhaps software, e.g. better fonts or text layout)?

I was at Border's back before the first of the year and compared my Kindle with the 505. The brightness/contrast was the identical to my eyes. I almost posted this over at JKRun where I first read this but eeehhhh.... life is too short to try and convince people who don't want to be convinced.

Everything that I've read says that the screens are the same but the Kindle uses an older screen controller than the 505.

The Kindle definitely has a VizPlex screen. It's the identical screen to the one used by the Sony 505 and CyBook Gen3. I believe that the older "first generation" screens are no longer being manufactured - at least not in any quantity.

According to E-Ink's website, it's Viziplex.

E-Ink (http://www.eink.com/products/customers_type.html)

Remember the Sony PRS-500 and the slight ghosting effect sometimes visible from the last page displayed? That's E Ink without Vizplex. The Kindle has definitely something better; so either Vizplex or something made specifically for Amazon.

i say this as someone who had both for a brief time, and actually compared them side by side. The Kindle changed pages at least twice as fast as the 500.

I think it just seems to have a lower contrast because of the much-hated white case.

No ifs or buts--the Vizplex part of the debate is over, if nothing else. Thanks, Alisa! - David Rothman for teleread.org

Could it be that some of the original Kindle's were the original screen and because the original screen is not being made, they are now Vizplex?

What we need are photos of the 505 side-by-side with the Kindle to stifle this issue one way or another.

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2007/11/thumb463x_Sony_v_AMZN_opener.jpg

Courtesy of Gizmodo.

They certainly look the same to me. The article is dated 11/26 so I'd think that would likely be the first batch off the line. I also doubt E-Ink would specifically state this was a Viziplex device on their site if only some of them were.

Could it be that some of the original Kindle's were the original screen and because the original screen is not being made, they are now Vizplex?

No, absolutely not. By the time the Kindle started production, VizPlex was all there was. Remember it can out a month and a half after the Gen3 which is unquestionably VizPlex.

The Kindle screen was announced as Vizplex from day one. There's no question at all about this. It does use a different display controller than the PRS-505, but it's physically the same screen part I believe.

Z.

The Kindle screen was announced as Vizplex from day one. There's no question at all about this. It does use a different display controller than the PRS-505, but it's physically the same screen part I believe.

Z.

Certainly the manufacturer has enough to do without trying to make 2 different screens simultaneously where one is obsolete. Would you think a car maker makes 2 years of the same car on the same assembly line?

Dale

Certainly the manufacturer has enough to do without trying to make 2 different screens simultaneously where one is obsolete. Would you think a car maker makes 2 years of the same car on the same assembly line?

Dale

Actually - Yes. Right now MINI is making the latest generation of the MINI on the same assembly line with the MINI convertible - which is still based on the older version of the sedan. Different engine, suspension, brakes... almost different everything. I'm still amazed they pull this off.

Actually - Yes. Right now MINI is making the latest generation of the MINI on the same assembly line with the MINI convertible - which is still based on the older version of the sedan. Different engine, suspension, brakes... almost different everything. I'm still amazed they pull this off.

I guess my analogy was off but the point was right. Actually automobile assembly lines can build all kinds of assortments of cards. My dad worked for GM in Kansas City where they built buicks, oldsmobiles, and pontiacs on the same line. But that was some sophisticated assembly, a little more advanced that what I would expect the e-INK line to be and at least the cars looked different. Imagine trying to keep all those displays that looked the same from getting mixed up.

Dale