On the Liquvista "demos" at CES

Nate the great · 01-10-2010, 12:31 AM

I wasn't going to post this becuase the news was rather thin. But then I noticed that a bunch of sites (including Teleread) had posted about the demo ereaders at CES. I want to set the record straight.

The so-called "Bebook prototype with Liquavista display" was not a prototype. The screen did not work. It basically was a 6" piece of plastic glued into an empty shell. It was a mock up, not a demo.

There were no prototype ereaders in Liquavista booth. The only demos were lab samples, and they were bolted to the counter.

That being said, there are actually two new screens under development. One is gray scale and the other is color. The color screen will be released after the gray scale screen. I also have solid information on the availability. The new screen tech is no where near ready to be released. The current projected release date for e-readers with this screen is first quarter 2011.

The projected cost is at the same level as LCDs with only 1/10 the power usage.

djgreedo · 01-10-2010, 04:39 AM

What does it look like? How close to paper is it? Is it as good as e-ink?

I've seen a video demo online, but of course that doesn't give any impression of how the display actually looks.

Stormchild · 01-10-2010, 05:47 AM

Thanks for the truth no matter how disappointing.

Godzil · 01-10-2010, 07:10 AM

Like always... Journalist does not verify their paper sand only want to do sensionalism...

What about the skiff so? Does it really exist? I can't understand their interdiction of making photos

dadioflex · 01-10-2010, 07:14 AM

Edit.

awi · 01-10-2010, 07:50 AM

But still a promising technology to replace my iliad somewhere in 2011.....

djgreedo · 01-10-2010, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadioflex

Could those mock-ups in the first photo look any more like giant iPhones?

They look more like giant copies of the original Zune.

LDBoblo · 01-11-2010, 06:04 AM

There was a nonfunctioning mockup Mirasol screen featured quite prominently not to long ago, and folks were all over it. Slashgear even did a photo session of the device casing it was in, even though the device was just a nonfunctioning demo unit with no real relationship to any real-world product.

This sort of thing is normal in screen demonstrations.

I never quite understood what is so hard to understand about demonstration and concept units. People seem to think that the software is somehow a real final product, that the casing is a real final product...they seem to forget that this is a technology and concept demonstration set up by a display company, which does not make the software or the casing or anything else really (well Qualcomm might make the processor or other electronic components...)

Kali Yuga · 01-11-2010, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I never quite understood what is so hard to understand about demonstration and concept units. People seem to think that the software is somehow a real final product, that the casing is a real final product...

FWIW, I don't think that's necessarily the fault of the "people," whether they be professional journalists or amateurs. You can't really tell from a demo unit at CES how far out the product actually is, and the language used by the PR flacks doesn't really clarify the situation. I just take whatever date they list and add about 12 months to it, that seems to work.

CleverClothe · 01-11-2010, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadioflex

Could those mock-ups in the first photo look any more like giant iPhones?

Since they look nothing like iPhones, the answer would be yes.

Dulin's Books · 01-12-2010, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

Since they look nothing like iPhones, the answer would be yes.

totally agree

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadioflex

Could those mock-ups in the first photo look any more like giant iPhones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by djgreedo

They look more like giant copies of the original Zune.

Actually what they look EXACTLY like is Liquavista displays shown in Onyx Boox 60 hardware

, because that's what they are. Onyx and Liquavista were booth-ed next to each other at CES and decided to show this mock-up of their respective products AFTER they had met at the show. Nice publicity for both companies.

Nate the great · 01-17-2010, 06:05 PM

There was a minor error in my post. The screens will be available sometime this quarter. It's actually the e-readers that won't be out until next year (or so I was told).

01-10-2010, 12:31 AM	#1
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 10,034 Karma: 2422819 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	On the Liquvista "demos" at CES I wasn't going to post this becuase the news was rather thin. But then I noticed that a bunch of sites (including Teleread) had posted about the demo ereaders at CES. I want to set the record straight. The so-called "Bebook prototype with Liquavista display" was not a prototype. The screen did not work. It basically was a 6" piece of plastic glued into an empty shell. It was a mock up, not a demo. There were no prototype ereaders in Liquavista booth. The only demos were lab samples, and they were bolted to the counter. That being said, there are actually two new screens under development. One is gray scale and the other is color. The color screen will be released after the gray scale screen. I also have solid information on the availability. The new screen tech is no where near ready to be released. The current projected release date for e-readers with this screen is first quarter 2011. The projected cost is at the same level as LCDs with only 1/10 the power usage. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Nate the great; 01-17-2010 at 06:10 PM. Reason: correction

01-10-2010, 07:14 AM	#5
dadioflex Dyslexic Count Posts: 527 Karma: 5041991 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Palm TX, Advent Vega, iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle	Edit. Last edited by dadioflex; 12-15-2010 at 06:43 PM.

01-11-2010, 06:04 AM	#8
LDBoblo Wizard Posts: 1,386 Karma: 16054 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Asia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Sony PRS-505	There was a nonfunctioning mockup Mirasol screen featured quite prominently not to long ago, and folks were all over it. Slashgear even did a photo session of the device casing it was in, even though the device was just a nonfunctioning demo unit with no real relationship to any real-world product. This sort of thing is normal in screen demonstrations. I never quite understood what is so hard to understand about demonstration and concept units. People seem to think that the software is somehow a real final product, that the casing is a real final product...they seem to forget that this is a technology and concept demonstration set up by a display company, which does not make the software or the casing or anything else really (well Qualcomm might make the processor or other electronic components...) Last edited by LDBoblo; 01-11-2010 at 06:10 AM.

01-17-2010, 06:05 PM	#12
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 10,034 Karma: 2422819 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	update There was a minor error in my post. The screens will be available sometime this quarter. It's actually the e-readers that won't be out until next year (or so I was told).

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01-10-2010, 04:39 AM	#2
djgreedo Addict Posts: 285 Karma: 640696 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Kindle Touch 3G, HP Touchpad (Android), Samsung Omnia 7	What does it look like? How close to paper is it? Is it as good as e-ink? I've seen a video demo online, but of course that doesn't give any impression of how the display actually looks.

01-10-2010, 05:47 AM	#3
Stormchild Evangelist Posts: 463 Karma: 878943 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Cornwall UK Device: BeBook 1. BeBook Mini. BeBook Neo and Club. BeBook Live. BeeBook Pure.	Thanks for the truth no matter how disappointing.

01-10-2010, 07:10 AM	#4
Godzil a pthread?? where? where? Posts: 1,739 Karma: 30462 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Paris, France Device: Newton MessagePad 2100, and only this	Like always... Journalist does not verify their paper sand only want to do sensionalism... What about the skiff so? Does it really exist? I can't understand their interdiction of making photos

01-10-2010, 07:50 AM	#6
awi Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 98 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Amsterdam Device: Irex Iliad V2	But still a promising technology to replace my iliad somewhere in 2011.....

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