Well, if it isn't a surprise to end all
surprises. Amazon's head honcho Jeff Bezos recently grabbed a mic at the outfit's annual shareholder meeting in Seattle, and when speaking about the "millions" of
Kindle e-readers that he's sold, he pointed out the obvious when questioned about the possibility of a
color version. In addressing concerns that LCD-based tablets may seem more attractive due to their ability to showcase color images and video, he noted that developing color electronic ink remains a
challenge, and while he's
seen things "in the laboratory," the prototypes are simply "not ready for prime-time
production." He also stated that these lust-worthy, mythical displays were "a long way out," but that the Kindle would remain focused as a dedicated e-reader moving forward. Hear that,
Mirasol? That's the ear-piecing sound of a market opportunity waiting to be exploited.
posted May 25th 2010 4:59PM
All in good time :)
what is Pixei Qi doing those days? still no release?
@htd My thought exactly. PixelQi! It looked great in the demo videos. I read somewhere (their website maybe) that they'd had a hiccup setting up proper production but that it was all-systems-go now.
I can't wait for the PixelQi screens so I can stare at the internet for twice as long before my eyes give out.
Why doesn't this have a "breaking" tab on it like all the other worthless news that gets it? (a few apple posts come to mind: iPhone 4G will have video chat! As confirmed by random tweets!)
@Bskballa92 Why doesn't your post have a "sarcasm" tag on it like all the other...oh, forget it...
@BecauseItsNotGoogle I don't think e-ink is sold on the mythical idea that LCDs cause eye strain; I always thought it was sold mostly as a much lower power, lightweight alternative to LCDs.
pfffffffffft!! Color schmolar
READING COMICS AND SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT MAGS IN E-INK FTW!!!
They should just buy Pixel Qi.
@BecauseItsNotGoogle I have to say, reading on my Kindle for long periods is much more comfortable than reading on my iPad. I take my iPad to work to read during breaks, but if I'm sitting around reading for a couple of hours my Kindle is WAY less straining on my eyes than the iPad is.
I have no use for colour in an eReader.
@Steve2000
or color tv! or stereo! get off my lawn you damn kids!
@tcc3 I see what you're going for, but it doesn't quite track. Color TV enhances the experience of viewing video by more closely simulating what our eyes see in the world. Stereo enhances the experience by simulating how our dual ears work to listen to music.
But having ink in different colors doesn't more closely simulate black ink on a piece of paper. You could create use cases, but they would all stray from the intended purpose of the dedicated book reader.
@cromulentgeek
This is where I disagree with you. Comic books and magazines. Adult magazines. These things will make color e-readers take off.
@BecauseItsNotGoogle
Interestingly I've found that some LCDs can make my eyes feel strained after awhile (eg. my laptop screen) while others don't (eg. my desktop LCD). I think it has a lot to do with backlight leakage and glare.
But anyway, my attraction to eInk isn't for the sake of "reducing eye strain". I just like the long battery life and high contrast outdoors.
He's probably right, but he's also very tight lipped about anything kindle related so even if he had something in the works for the next gen I doubt he'd reveal it there.
Mirasol has a terrible contrast ratio. I honestly think colour isn't that big a deal. Refresh rate on the other hand...
Dear Engadget,
Please stop using the "Shocker!" title for things that aren't really shockers. It's not funny if you use it every day.
May the force be with you.
@Obi Wan Kenobi It's not funny copying Lord Vader, either.
this is not a shocker
@tylersmyler
You can't pick up on Sarcasm.
this just in !!! e-ink is obsolete.
also ... people whining about reading on LCD need to wear 2 eyepatches over their eyes 24/7 ... that way no light can get to their dainty delecate eyes at all.
i read for hours at a time on lcd and its just fine.
@darthgault
I can watch TV on a standard def 17" tube, but I prefer my 44" hi-def screen. Similarly, e-ink is more pleasing to my eyes (and I imagine everyone else's) than an LCD screen that is hard to read in sunlight. Is it worth the money? Maybe, maybe not. Is e-ink awesome? Hell yes.
@zangetsu2
e-ink can't do anything well except book reading .... standalone book readers arent going to last if they are not multifunctional.
@darthgault why would a standalone book reader need to do anything besides books? If they did, they wouldn't be standalone book readers.
I think your main dissatisfaction with them is that you don't understand their purpose or you don't have a need for them. If you want it to do other things, then you are wanting another device.
I want a device that simulates ink on paper, that has no backlight, that doesn't refresh until I turn the page, that gives me access to a huge catalog of books, that fits the hand and is portable. In other words, I want an E Ink reader. People like me are the market and we are not a small market. You clearly want a computer of some kind.
@cromulentgeek
Perfectly cromulent explanation.
@cromulentgeek
I understand exactly what your saying. Ink and paper isn't how the new generation consumes its media any more. Their life is digital ... they need to youtube, facebook, dailybooth, twitter, and consume the rest of their media digitally and in color .... books included. A stand alone reader only is a backwards looking business model and will fail reguardless if you like it or not.
You want reader that does a DAMN good job of being a reader.
The market is about to get hit with a ton of tablet PCs that will run Kindle and other book software. That is the direction the media consumption market is going and anyone making a reader only unit will have a short life.
Books are merging with the rest of digital media and they are going to be consumed that way ... Apple sees it and are weaving their evil empire to manipulate and control publishing.
Stand alone book readers have about a 6 month sales window left.
@darthgault
Are you talking about normal adults or hyper kinetic teens?
with grandmothers on facebook now normal adults and teens are becoming the a single group of digital consumers. Thats very apparent with very wide range of ipad buyers. The ipad is just the beginning of this trend. You will see.
@darthgault
That's all really nice but even iff all grandma's are on facebook and the iPad sold 1000 times more than it did now... I still can't read on non e-ink screens in the sun.
@BecauseItsNotGoogle
I have to admit it too. When I really need to concentrate on what's on the screen, working or reading I feel a discomfort with my eyes that I don't have when I read books for example. I've never used an e-ink device before, but when the discomfort is in fact related to the backlight, I can see why e-ink as advantages.
I think e-ink is great because you can read it out in the sun and in bright light unlike LCD screens.
E-ink is great for reading in the sunlight, but in today's market, people want color.
@aksnoopy really, people don't. They do for things other than reading books, sure. But these are things that are not covered by the intended purpose of an E Ink book reader like the Kindle. It's for reading books and this doesn't require color.
@cromulentgeek What about books that are in color and have pictures? If a ebook reader is really going to be useful for students, I think it should be in color. Most textbooks in publication are in color.
@aksnoopy Yes, and flash and bigger screens and a intel cpu and 1-2 GB RAM and a 250GB harddrive and a 'full' OS like win XP or win 7...
Sounds familiar? It's the netbook saga.
@MaTdg I agree it is very important to distinguish between an e-book reader and a tablet. I think a fully functioning tablet would be wonderful but not realistic at this point in time. I still stick by my previous posts in that I think color is important on an e-book reader sans flash, full browsing, Windows, etc. It's what we all expect when we pick up a book or newspaper or magazine.
AKA Next month.
BUY NOW!
@BecauseItsNotGoogle You wonder why? Because you are not aware of the damage you are doing. You have gotten used to the discomfort, maybe.
The ergonomics team of my company spoke a lot about taking breaks every 15 minutes while working on the computer. I've never heard that about reading a book. Ink on paper and E Ink are pretty much the same.
@SeeKo The backlight is a big part of the problem, but also factor in the constantly refreshing screen. Too fast to notice usually, but it is affecting your eyes. They are working to take everything in. E Ink eliminates both of those factors. The difference is that of the difference between a computer monitor or TV and a book.
I don't know about you guys but when I want to just relax and pick up a book and read, i read on my kindle. Lightweight, focus only on reading and nothing else. But the iPad is heavy to hold in one hand and too awkward to put in my lap. Then there are these email notifications and facebook/twitter updates when it gets multitasking .... all this is too much of a distraction for me. When I want to read, I just want to read. I don't know if you noticed this, but the Kindle hides even the time from the task bar at the top when you are in a book. The problem with the ipad is you can't even hold it firmly because if your finger touches the screen, it flips a page. May be I don't know how to hold an iPad.
According to me both are great devices. Each has its own purpose. But for serious reading, Kindle FTW. For everything else iPad(or any other tablet/slate device) FTW.
Buy now so amazon can clear out their kindle 2 stocks for releasing the kindle 3.
The kindle 3 probably won't have colour but I would think it would have a better refresh rate and hopefully touchscreen with on screen keyboard.
@Plothole I'm surprised with the space on the bezel they haven't added a solar panel. I would think with such low power requirements it could keep the battery charged almost forever.
With the current state of color e-ink that looks dull the grayscale eink is a better alternative.
I hope Amazon uses the new paper thin display that eink announced recently, a skinnier smaller kindle would be cool.
@CharlesDayton
I don't see Amazon releasing a new Kindle for a while. Because color e-ink is still not a reality there's no real reason to release a Kindle 3. Touch? IMO that's not a real "game changer" for people who want a dedicated e-reader. If people wanted a touch device there's the Sony Reader, and clearly people aren't flocking to that over the Kindle 2. Skinnier? Have you seen the Kindle 2? How much thinner could they make that thing and would it be worth the development cost just to make a thinner device with the same features as the Kindle 2? IMO, no.
Amazon's given users of the K2 enhancements like collections in firmware 2.5 and then recently enhanced the Kindle for PC app as well. I'm not convinced that a new device is coming, at least not until late 2011 after their techie people get a better handle on color e-ink, and maybe not even that soon.
Bezos can't be happy about not being able to bring a color e-ink device to market quickly. IMO not having one really puts a dent in to their app store. Yeah, the rumored Soduku app will probably work with the Kindle 2, but playing checkers and other games won't be as popular without color IMO. I don't see the app store doing well at all until they can develop some kind of color e-ink/LCD hybrid designed like the Courier.
Color on an ereader is like a spoiler on a Prius. They've perfected the hardware in my opinion. iBooks on the iPad is an absolute horrible substitute after becoming acclimated to the seamless reading experience on a device thinner than the nook with twice the battery life.
Amazon's biggest problem: Books. Many, many titles are not available.
Now I'm half way through an iBook (Unavailable title on Kindle) and tread slowly while reading words through bleeding winced eyes.
@Maroonfree Funny you should say that.
One look at iBooks and the Kindle is dead. Because iBooks comes with Winnie the Pooh, so you open that book, and you see the original color illustrations immediately. They are beautiful. I have never seen a Kindle e-display, but imagining these lovely color illustrations in B&W all I can say is #Kindle #FAIL
It doesn't matter that the e-ink is actually easier to read. It reminds me of the Atari SE back when. It had a grayscale display. It was much easier to look at than color displays. But it lost.
Wait - is that a Speak n Spell?!?!
...well what about a touch screen? They could put that on a Kindle refresh with a spec upgrade and charge $300 for it. That sounds pretty reasonable IMO.
Kindle market isn't dead by a long shot. When Apple releases a device that has free worldwide 3G access for downloads, can match the Kindle's battery life, and drop the price point to $250, the Kindle will be dead.
The people buying the Kindle aren't techies. They just want to read books. And they want to read them anywhere and not drop $450 on a device with no 3G. There is a market for this without a doubt, that is why so many dedicated e-book readers are hitting the market. People don't want to drop $600 when they already have an ipod and a computer. They want to read books.