Bye-bye Kindle, E-reader Screens Coming for Netbooks

discourse · 05-29-2009, 11:54 PM

From pcworld

"Netbook makers will soon play a larger role in the e-reader market if start-up Pixel Qi has anything to say about it.

The company, founded by former One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) CTO Mary Lou Jepsen, will show off engineering samples of its first screen product at Computex Taipei 2009 next week, and IDG News Service was able to catch a first look on Friday.

The first Pixel Qi product, called 3qi, is a 10.1-inch netbook screen designed to work in three modes: a black-and-white e-ink mode for reading text documents and e-books, and two color modes, designed for use indoors or in bright sunlight, that are more suitable for Web surfing and video playback.

E-ink mode extends battery life by shutting off the backlight, and is intended for reading e-books, documents, Web sites or blogs and other text-based material.

The screens should be in netbooks and on store shelves by the end of this year, said Jepsen. Giving netbooks new screens capable of making them e-readers could make them compelling holiday presents, for price and functionality alone."

thibaulthalpern · 05-30-2009, 12:23 AM

Hmm...one thing I like about dedicated ebook devices is that it doesn't come with the heft and size that full laptops do. I often don't carry my laptop with me because I don't need it.

discourse · 05-30-2009, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thibaulthalpern

Hmm...one thing I like about dedicated ebook devices is that it doesn't come with the heft and size that full laptops do. I often don't carry my laptop with me because I don't need it.

Same here. I'm amazed that it took manufacturers so long to realize that there was a market for netbooks with an XO type screen.

Talldog · 05-31-2009, 06:41 PM

The last thing I want for an ebook reader is a clamshell device with an almost full size keyboard and widescreen display.

Dylrob · 05-31-2009, 07:17 PM

Could the writers of this article have picked a more biased title? Or be more ignorant of the technology? (eink =/= epaper!!!!)

Justy · 05-31-2009, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talldog

The last thing I want for an ebook reader is a clamshell device with an almost full size keyboard and widescreen display.

This might make up for the size a bit when reading

Quote:

New netbooks designed to include e-reader functions will likely have displays that can swivel around to cover the keyboard, a tablet mode good for an e-book reader, said John Ryan, chief operating officer at Pixel Qi.

CleverClothe · 05-31-2009, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylrob

Could the writers of this article have picked a more biased title? Or be more ignorant of the technology? (eink =/= epaper!!!!)

Time for hate mail!

But seriously, while I think this would offer stiffer competition, it still does not Netbooks into a device like the dedicated readers (small, light, long battery life). I think Netbooks like this are great, but it won't kill the dedicated readers, yet.

Musicman · 05-31-2009, 07:55 PM

I have been using my netbook to read books for over a year, and also use my old reliable Ipaq 4700. The things I like about the netbook is that you do not have to hold it to read, and I can read any format - DRM or not.

However, I do not see it as replacing a dedicated e-book reader - I see it as supplementing one.

As soon as Ez-Reader comes out with their firmware supporting Adobe Digital and Ereader DRM I will be buying one.

ruskie · 06-01-2009, 04:33 AM

Hmm sounds like a nice idea of a tri-state screen. Depending on price and hardware might get one for general use.

Andybaby · 06-01-2009, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruskie

Hmm sounds like a nice idea of a tri-state screen. Depending on price and hardware might get one for general use.

well cost of netbooks are currently at about 250 bucks, with this screen it can go as high as 400 to 450 to begin with. but it sounds like a seriously good thing.

also this article has been posted in alot of threads already

Sabardeyn · 06-01-2009, 04:44 AM

Personally I dislike laptops, and netbooks were more of the same ilk.

With the exception of portability, desktop computers do better than a laptop. On rare occasions though I would have liked to have my computer available someplace other than my home.

As I've gotten further into ebooks I've started to pay more attention to netbooks. They're fairly lightweight, moderately compact (for a laptop) without trying to be everything to everyone. They are also about the same price as a dedicated ereader. To me it is a slightly more cost effective purchase. I get to have a laptop in the rare circumstances that I need one while having space for a good portion of my library in a thick, kinda awkwardly heavy "book" - with a weird binding.

Andybaby · 06-01-2009, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabardeyn

Personally I dislike laptops, and netbooks were more of the same ilk.

With the exception of portability, desktop computers do better than a laptop. On rare occasions though I would have liked to have my computer available someplace other than my home.

As I've gotten further into ebooks I've started to pay more attention to netbooks. They're fairly lightweight, moderately compact (for a laptop) without trying to be everything to everyone. They are also about the same price as a dedicated ereader. To me it is a slightly more cost effective purchase. I get to have a laptop in the rare circumstances that I need one while having space for a good portion of my library in a thick, kinda awkwardly heavy "book" - with a weird binding.

watch it though, after about 6 months reading on my EEE 7" I got eyestrain troubles, and I was 19 with perfect 20/20 vision (or better) but defenatly try it out.

also, my custom built, $1700 pc, was built 3 years ago, has a amd 3700 and 1 gig of ram, and had a $300 video card.

my current laptop cost me $555 bucks, has a vid card that's better than that, dual core, and has 4 gigs of ram. PC's in this price point cost about the same or MORE. so I got a laptop. I only need a PC to be attached to my TV, which that 3 year old beast is perfect for, now I have a laptop, that was cheap, its fast. its better, and if I wanted to play a game, the vid card on it can handle it. but Ive went back to my PS2, such a great backlog of games + DDR which I'm using for exercise. don't knock a cheap laptop, they are good, and for when you need the portability, which I admit, for me isn't often. its there. Netbooks are great, but very limited and I never used mine much. though I can see myself using a 10 or 12 inch netbook full time as they have about the same specs as the computer I was used to. I don't think I used my EEE much cause it had Linux, and was just a pain to do much on.

ruskie · 06-01-2009, 07:41 AM

I only use my 701 for when I need to... I prefer a big display with a normal resolution and big font size to reduce eyestrain. Also makes it possible to read it from a tad further off.

05-29-2009, 11:54 PM	#1
discourse Connoisseur Posts: 69 Karma: 96 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Finland Device: NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, iPad 1	Bye-bye Kindle, E-reader Screens Coming for Netbooks From pcworld "Netbook makers will soon play a larger role in the e-reader market if start-up Pixel Qi has anything to say about it. The company, founded by former One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) CTO Mary Lou Jepsen, will show off engineering samples of its first screen product at Computex Taipei 2009 next week, and IDG News Service was able to catch a first look on Friday. The first Pixel Qi product, called 3qi, is a 10.1-inch netbook screen designed to work in three modes: a black-and-white e-ink mode for reading text documents and e-books, and two color modes, designed for use indoors or in bright sunlight, that are more suitable for Web surfing and video playback. E-ink mode extends battery life by shutting off the backlight, and is intended for reading e-books, documents, Web sites or blogs and other text-based material. The screens should be in netbooks and on store shelves by the end of this year, said Jepsen. Giving netbooks new screens capable of making them e-readers could make them compelling holiday presents, for price and functionality alone."

05-31-2009, 07:17 PM	#5
Dylrob Murderous Mustela Posts: 10,234 Karma: 48000000 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The other land of schnitzel and beer Device: iPad M1 Pro, Kindle Paperwhite	Could the writers of this article have picked a more biased title? Or be more ignorant of the technology? (eink =/= epaper!!!!) Last edited by Dylrob; 05-31-2009 at 07:19 PM.

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05-30-2009, 12:23 AM	#2
thibaulthalpern Evangelist Posts: 478 Karma: 451808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: California, USA Device: my two eyes, KLiiK, Sony PRS-700	Hmm...one thing I like about dedicated ebook devices is that it doesn't come with the heft and size that full laptops do. I often don't carry my laptop with me because I don't need it.

05-31-2009, 06:41 PM	#4
Talldog Addict Posts: 293 Karma: 1431716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Connecticut Device: Kindle Paperwhite, KDX Graphite, Surface Pro	The last thing I want for an ebook reader is a clamshell device with an almost full size keyboard and widescreen display.

05-31-2009, 07:55 PM	#8
Musicman Evangelist Posts: 451 Karma: 364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: New York Device: EZ-Reader - Samsung Nook's- Nook S/T w/Glow - Kindle Fire - Nova 2	I have been using my netbook to read books for over a year, and also use my old reliable Ipaq 4700. The things I like about the netbook is that you do not have to hold it to read, and I can read any format - DRM or not. However, I do not see it as replacing a dedicated e-book reader - I see it as supplementing one. As soon as Ez-Reader comes out with their firmware supporting Adobe Digital and Ereader DRM I will be buying one.

06-01-2009, 04:33 AM	#9
ruskie Shade Posts: 100 Karma: 546 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: U.LC.MW.Sol.Earth.EE.SI.LJ Device: Hanlin Jinke V3ext running OpenInkPot	Hmm sounds like a nice idea of a tri-state screen. Depending on price and hardware might get one for general use.

06-01-2009, 04:44 AM	#11
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	Personally I dislike laptops, and netbooks were more of the same ilk. With the exception of portability, desktop computers do better than a laptop. On rare occasions though I would have liked to have my computer available someplace other than my home. As I've gotten further into ebooks I've started to pay more attention to netbooks. They're fairly lightweight, moderately compact (for a laptop) without trying to be everything to everyone. They are also about the same price as a dedicated ereader. To me it is a slightly more cost effective purchase. I get to have a laptop in the rare circumstances that I need one while having space for a good portion of my library in a thick, kinda awkwardly heavy "book" - with a weird binding.

06-01-2009, 07:41 AM	#13
ruskie Shade Posts: 100 Karma: 546 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: U.LC.MW.Sol.Earth.EE.SI.LJ Device: Hanlin Jinke V3ext running OpenInkPot	I only use my 701 for when I need to... I prefer a big display with a normal resolution and big font size to reduce eyestrain. Also makes it possible to read it from a tad further off.

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