E Ink Announces Kaleido 4 Color E-Reader Display With Twice the Colors
E Ink has announced Kaleido 4, a color e-reader display it says is brighter and clearer than Kaleido 3 and can produce twice as many colors. It is initially available only on Hanvon's M10 C II in China.
E Ink claims Kaleido 4 delivers “greater clarity, while reducing the perception of screen graininess,” according to TechRadar. If those claims hold, normal text could look closer to the standard set by black-and-white e-readers, the report said.
The display can produce more than 40,000 colors, double the previous generation, E Ink says. It also has a higher refresh rate, increases white reflectance by 15% and improves contrast by 50%, while video can be played at 18 frames per second, according to the report. TechRadar questioned why anyone would regularly watch video on an E Ink screen.
For now, Kaleido 4 is available only on Hanvon Technology's M10 C II, a China-only E Ink tablet, TechRadar reported. The report said it hopes global brands such as Kobo, Boox and ViWoods will adopt the technology soon. The technology could also improve future Kindle Colorsoft models and other color e-readers, but because a new Kindle Colorsoft model has only just launched, it may be a while before Amazon uses it.
TechRadar's writer offered a skeptical view of current color e-readers, saying their colors are muted and that technologies such as Kaleido 3 make the screen darker and grainier even when only text is displayed. They also generally cost a premium, the writer said, adding that they would still choose a black-and-white e-reader for standard books and a tablet or paper for color-heavy content. Kaleido 4 might change that preference if the improvements are real, the writer said.
No other devices using Kaleido 4 were announced in the report.