We couldn't get the thing to turn on -- prototype buffoonery, zapped battery, or a classic case of trade show jitters, we figure -- but Inventec's curious V112 was on display inside Qualcomm's booth at CTIA. Why Qualcomm, you ask? Well, Qualcomm owns Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, which has been pushing its mirasol display tech for several years now; the main draw is that it's super high-contrast which eliminates the need for a backlight in many situations where a traditional LCD would need a little help, and the WinMo-powered V112 uses a small mirasol strip as a secondary display surrounded by nav controls. Even though we weren't getting any Windows Mobile action, we did manage to engage the mirasol display (also known as "the cool part") where we saw an example of what the V112 might be able to do without turning on the battery-destroying LCD up top: show basic status information and the current time. It's a good idea; we're not sure that the V112's implementation is perfect since there's zero tactility to the d-pad, but you've got to start somewhere, and mirasol could use as many commercial implementations as it can get.

Last time we Qualcomm's mirasol display in action, it was still enjoying its black-and-white simplicity. While the ultra-efficient, ambient light-loving technology hasn't gone through that Pleasantville epiphany just yet, a 1.1-inch bichrome mirasol touchscreen has found its way onto Inventec's V112 Smartphone alongside a decidedly more colorful bigger brother. It'll serve to show time, incoming and missed calls, email and SMS alerts, MP3 song information, and other information that doesn't require a lot of space or hue. As for the phone itself, we've got GPS, WiFI, Bluetooth, a three megapixel camera, and no word on pricing or availability. Additioanlly, Inventec has announced an agreement with LG to include use mirasol -- presumably also as secondary screens -- into one more commercial handsets sometime in the future. A great deal for Qualcomm, for sure, but how about a few more details on what exactly those phones will be?

Read - Inventec V112
Read - LG mirasol agreement

Qualcomm's mirasol display technology has had quite a rough time gaining mass appeal, but if it could really break into, say, the GPS market, it might just be onto something. Here at CES, G-CORE will be showcasing the first ever GPS device to utilize the tech, though it's probably not the GPS you're dreaming of. The Mini Caddy is simply a GPS Range Finder, though the application makes sense given just how frequently such a device will be viewed in direct sunlight. Within it will be a 1.2-inch bichrome mirasol display, 1GB of internal memory and map data of up to 25,000 golf courses worldwide. Obviously, no pricing or release information has been decided upon, but you catch the release in full after the break.

We've been impatiently awaiting the red carpet arrival of Freestyle Audio's Soundwave for a few seasons now, and at long last, it appears the units are shipping out -- or, at least one made its way over to cousin site Gadling for a review. The Soundwave is pretty much exactly what you'd expect: a ho hum MP3 player with a rather unsightly design, a disgraceful user interface and the ability to operate where the vast majority of rivals cannot. The reviewer noted that controlling the action was a pain, though the internal battery could keep the jams flowing for well over a day. Of course, the biggest boon is its ability to keep on truckin' while submerged in the pool (or the tub, whatever), and the included waterproof headphones were said to be surprisingly tolerable. Now, if only brown bags were waterproof...

Well, wouldn't you know it? Just after we bash Qualcomm for talking up its second color mirasol-based design before shipping the first, along comes a little justification of our actions. Over in San Francisco, said company is trumpeting an item that we first heard about back in May, but regrettably, it doesn't sound as if we're any closer to getting a release date. What we are told is the device's name: the Freestyle Audio Soundwave Ltd. Edition, or -- more formally -- the FA300. It'll boast a 0.9-inch color mirasol display, a waterproof casing, built-in Bluetooth, and a whole host of other niceties that we're sure to find out about before the next decade dawns. 'Til then, we'd suggest a hearty helping of patience.

Remember that Freestyle Audio player that was supposed to blow folks away with its integrated color mirasol display? Yeah, that one that still hasn't shipped? Qualcomm is apparently uninterested in that tiny little factoid, as it's proudly pumping the MFM Pro headphones as the "second color mirasol-enabled design for the US market." According to Jim Cathey, vice president of business development for Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, the deal with Skullcandy is being made to "move mirasol displays into the hands of more consumers," but considering just how long we've been waiting for the aforementioned DAP, we'd say the burden of proof is squarely in its court. Oh, and the ship date for these cans? There isn't one.

[Via Slashgear]

You've got your LCDs, you've got your OLEDs, and you've got your E Ink, but Qualcomm's gearing up to push a new kind of display your way: the technology's called reflective interferometric modulation (IMOD), which is something of a mouthful, so Qualcomm intends to market it as Mirasol. These IMOD displays should have many of the same qualities we've come to know and love about OLED, like low power consumption, visibility in outdoor lighting, and no backlighting requirement, and apparently the first, very tiny 0.9-inch Mirasol screen will be showing up in a future Freestyle Audio player (technology sample shown above).

Read - Press release
Read - Mirasol site (not a lot there, unfortunately)