E Ink display manufacturer PVI soars thanks to Sony Reader

[Alexander Turcic]

It seems Taiwan-based panel maker Prime View International (PVI) is the first to benefit from the launch of the Sony Reader. The company which acquired Philips' e-paper unit in 2005 and offers various ODM/OEM services to develop E Ink-based products has shipped nearly 10'000 e-paper kits in August, and mainly to Sony, says DigiTimes.

Currently, PVI is the only e-paper supplier for Sony, according to market sources. The strong shipments in August boosted PVI's revenues in August to NT$1.074 billion, up 72% from NT$624 million in July, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

Beside Sony, PVI also delivers displays to Jinke Electronics ("Hanlin eBook V2"), Amazon ("Amazon Kindle) and various other e-reader clients.