Things have been relatively quiet on Pixel Qi's 3Qi e-paper technology which we
thought to arrive this month. If you believe uncorroborated early reports, 3Qi will not only be cheaper to produce than E Ink panels but also come with full color and video capability. The Wired magazine has now thankfully come through and stirred the pot a bit, reporting that Pixel Qi "plans to have samples of its display out within the next two months" with the first commercial displays to follow "later this year."
Quote:
Pixel Qi’s displays called 3Qi will operate in three settings: a full-color, bright, conventional LCD mode; a very low-power, sunlight-readable, reflective e-paper mode; and a low-power, basic color transflective mode. The screens are initially expected to be available in 10.5-inch and 7.5-inch screen sizes.
If successful, the 3Qi displays could effectively bridge the high-speed, full-color benefits of traditional LCDs and the low-power, reader-friendly qualities of electronic ink displays. The market for electronic ink is currently led by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based E Ink, whose extremely low power, sunlight-readable electrophoretic displays are used in the majority of e-book readers today, including the successful Amazon.com Kindle and Kindle 2. However, despite the readability of E Ink’s screens, the displays take a second or two to refresh, making them unsuitable for video or animation. Also, they are currently only available in monochrome.
|
Unlike E Ink, 3Qi is still based on traditional LCD technology, which is why it's cheaper to produce - you can use existing LCD production lines. Unfortunately, only time will tell how well 3Qi performs in comparison to E Ink - in particular in regard to low-power usage and readability.
Link:
Pixel Qi Promises Cheap, Readable, Low-Power Displays (Wired)