Crystal Ball - Kindle with Mirasol?

[krazy4katz]

I would like color for some of my books that have nice illustrations, and I probably would purchase magazines on the kindle if it had color. However, I am not willing to give up battery life or speed for color. At least, not now.

[zinj]

I don't think we will see a Mirasol Kindle any time soon. However, I do believe we will see a Mirasol ereader from a smaller Asian company by the middle of next year. The display technology is just too radical to show up initially in a mainstream product from Amazon. The same Asian companies that have started to flood the market with cheap Android tablets have very little to lose by being the first to offer a reader/tablet with a Mirasol display. It is a known fact that Mirasol has already commenced mass production of 5.7" screens and as signed up several consumer product companies as clients (PocketBook for one). The first product may very well be a PocketBook reader with a small 5.7" screen and basic tablet functions.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by tomsem

...
By contrast, 9" eink devices, which have been available almost as long, remain costly, and things like iPad have soaked up what little demand there was for them, ensuring that economies of scale cannot be easily reached that would allow more significant price reduction. The Kindle DX and Entourage EDGE linger on, but it remains to be seen for how long.
....

I have to strongly disagree. The iPad may have soaked demand for infrequent readers and netbook buyers, but not for many heavy readers or those who need a real laptop.

Less than two months ago I got an iPad, and I read 2-4 hours every day on it. Last night I placed an order for a Kindle DXG.

I found that after several weeks of reading on the iPad, my eyes started to be affected -- since I'd rather spend $400 on a Kindle than on glasses, I got a DXG.

Now, I have a K2, but I really do not find reading on a 6" screen enjoyable or immersive. Maybe because I have always preferred hardcovers to paperbacks. My wife has a DX and refuses to read on the K2.

The reality is that even 9.7 is smaller than a regular hardcover book, and it is far from sufficient for periodicals or regular PDFs.

A larger size reflective screen in good color will certainly have a market, as well as higher profit margins than the cheap 6" readers. Periodicals are always a big draw, as are textbooks and PDFs.

I also have to disagree with TomF. Apple does great marketing, but it also does great design and it provides great user experience. And if you compare similar products, it is hardly overpriced - and almost always delivers better quality and workmanship than competing products.

For what it's worth, I waited for months for a comparable Android tablet, even if the OS isn't yet exactly as smooth as iOS. But at the end, I realized that there is nothing good enough coming out in the next six months or so.

[brecklundin]

I agree that 9.7" screens are far too small for practical replacements for many types of books. Reducing margins I would estimate the minimum size is about 11.5" with probably 12"-14" being optimal. Of course about 14" is an 8.5"x11" page. So I suspect one could manage well with a 12" panel.

Isn't 9.7" about the size of a trade paperback? I forget and am too lazy to get one to measure.