Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Screen tech is the driver for ebook reader gadgets.
So far, software features have *not* been a high-volume draw; ebook reader sales for now are more about basic ebook access than about sophisticated software feature sets.
For eInk, near term, we might see plastic substrate panels for lighter, more robust screens and/or low-saturation color displays on the reflective side. Further out, high-saturation reflective color.
For LCD, near term may see the return of transflective to the consumer market (last seen on PDAs) or other incrementally lower-power screens; probably via LED sidelighting and finer-grained lighting control. Longer term, lower power consumption and lighter, more powerful batteries will bring 20-30 hour LCD readers into the 8 ounce range.
Essentially, the race for the true next-gen (high-volume) ebook reader (circa 2014-16) will be decided by whether eink gets to near-LCD color saturation or LCD gets to near-reflective weight and power use first.
Until then, B&W pearl-type eink screens will rule.
We might see incremental contrast improvements and significant refresh-rate improvements but the products using them won't be significantly different than what we see now in the Kindle 4 and Sony T1, to pick just two.
But we're looking at a hardware feature/pricing sweet spot that is going to be with us for a while.
Last edited by fjtorres; 01-13-2012 at 11:51 AM.
|