[Nikko73]

A Sony "branded channel product manager" wote back re: vizplex Vs. pearl:

"The new screen (on both the PRS350 Pocket Edition and PRS650 Touch Edition) is an E-Ink Pearl Display – specifically the E-Ink Pearl display is a Visplex V220 model

E-Ink Pearl display (Vizplex™ v220)
- Gray Scale : 16-levels gray scale
- Resolution : 800 x 600 pixels


The “Pearl” part is the marketing name for the screen
The Visplex V220 is the specific model of screen


The advantages of this new gen Pearl screen compared to previous Reader models are:
• Higher contrast
• Enable faster page turns


Mike - The customer is fretting for no good reason."

I guess that sums it up. Pearl is vizplex V220.
Just to clarify I do love the new Sony reader but I am a little disappointed that the 'white' part of the screen is not discernably 'whiter' than previous Vizplex screens. The black is definately blacker and the page turns appreciably faster though. And the Sony reader is beautifully built and full of great functions.