11-03-2009, 11:24 AM | #1 |
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Marvells New chips will lower costs of eBook Readers
Here is the article: marvells-new-chips-will-bring-cost-of-ebooks-to-under-100/.
They make a huge claim to drop the price of eBook Readers to under $100. This claim is very aggressive and really a long term goal but the title makes it seem just around the corner. What is just around the corner is a new arm processor with e-INK controller capability built in which should reduce the price a little but not nearly as much as they claim. Nor is the screen change going to be instantaneous as they claim. But the article in interesting none the less and does provide an alternative to the Epson controller. Dale Last edited by DaleDe; 11-03-2009 at 11:46 AM. |
11-03-2009, 11:30 AM | #2 |
zeldinha zippy zeldissima
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even if it's not going to be here tomorrow it's great to see people working on the technology to improve it and bring the cost down. it's really exciting to think of the possibilities here. the article says marvell's technology will start to appear on the market in Q1 of 2010 ; that's really soon. what do you think ? sub 100$ in 2011 ?
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11-03-2009, 11:53 AM | #3 | |
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Quote:
Aug. 13, 2009: "...Marvell, says the company will soon release a chip set he calls "a complete solution for e-books." The chips will include wireless circuitry, along with power management chips and a controller chip for the e-paper display. Manghnani says Marvell is shipping to customers, but wouldn't yet name them. E-book reader sales are being helped by improved power usage. Today's e-books typically hold a battery charge for two to four weeks, compared with just days for earlier versions. While Kindle and Sony dominate the market, they have competition. One pending e-reader generating a lot of buzz, in part because users can roll up its flexible screen, is from startup Plastic Logic. Due out early next year, bookstore chain Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS - News) will be the exclusive seller. The companies haven't disclosed the chip suppliers for the device. But already on the market are e-book readers from Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG - News) spinoff IRex Technologies and from China's STAReTek, called the STAReBook. There's also the FLEPia from Fujitsu, the Cybook Opus from France's Bookeen and a reader from Polymer Vision, which like IRex is based in the Netherlands. Manghnani says more than 20 companies are designing e-book readers. At least half of them plan to launch between now and the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, he says. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Qualco....html?x=0&.v=1 |
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11-03-2009, 11:59 AM | #4 |
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It may be old news to you but was never posted here so far as I know and this is really an article that names names which is new. Thanks for the earlier post.
Dale |
11-03-2009, 12:02 PM | #5 | |
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Quote:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53554 |
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11-03-2009, 12:42 PM | #6 |
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One of the problems is the statement "They won’t initially be priced at under $100, but they are expected to get there eventually." I don't see how they can say that if they take inflation into account, since nobody knows what inflation will be (except maybe near-term). If they're saying 'under $100 in current dollars' then I'm sure they're right. But then the $300 ereaders available now are 'under $100 in 1940 dollars'. (No, I didn't calculate that-I just grabbed a date far enough that I'm *certain* my statement is correct. It's probably correct for '1990 dollars' too, but I'd want to calculate that before making that as a firm claim.)
My point is that 'eventually' is a long time. If you're talking about prices in current dollars, then 'eventually' the price will decline to almost any point you choose. And if you're talking about prices in future dollars then you should really mention what you assume inflation will be. Or you should put a time limit on 'eventually'. (Under $100 by the end of 2011, for example. That's soon enough that most reasonable assumptions of inflation won't have very much affect.) |
11-03-2009, 05:25 PM | #7 | |
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Freescale (their CPUs are used by Amazon, Sony and txtr) also plans to develop a system-on-a-chip for E-Ink screens.
Quote:
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11-03-2009, 05:28 PM | #8 |
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I think it was picked up about a fortnight ago by wallcraft over here. That said, I think it bears repeating as it indicates the expected market place for such devices to make it worth having such and integrated product.
It's also mentioned in an article by Anandtech which also has a positive review of the Kindle 2. |
11-03-2009, 05:32 PM | #9 |
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Hmm, are people trying to cut out the Epson controller we all waited so long to get?
Dale |
11-03-2009, 05:43 PM | #10 |
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Well, Epson is not resting on laurels either, they announced an improved E-Ink controller just a while ago. However, a SoC with a built-in E-Ink controller means one less chip for the maker, meaning one less point of failure and (supposedly) saved money. Most mobile processors nowadays include an LCD controller, so maybe E-Ink will become a standard feature too.
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11-03-2009, 08:58 PM | #11 |
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Marvell, E Ink Makes Ereader System-on-Chip
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/marvell-...news-5005.html |
11-03-2009, 09:10 PM | #12 |
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this is really great!!
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11-05-2009, 10:16 AM | #13 | |
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(Okay, there is a third bottleneck in page changes-- the read speed for the flash memory-- but I doubt that it is a significant factor in blocks of memory as small as the page of a book.) |
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11-05-2009, 01:53 PM | #14 | |
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Quote:
Derek |
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11-05-2009, 02:01 PM | #15 |
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If Marvell has the same level of quality for this project that they do for their RAID controllers/onboard sound/onboard ethernet, you'll want to stay far away from them. </experience>
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