E Ink’s New Kaleido 4 Might Inch Us Nearer To The Good Color E-Reader

E Ink has announced the newest model of its Kaleido colour e-paper know-how, introducing enhancements that could possibly be the promoting level of future e-readers and writing tablets. The firm’s new Kaleido 4 show is meant to have the ability to produce a wider vary of colours, whereas enhancing issues like refresh price, a typical downside with e-paper screens.

Kaleido 4 “doubles the colour gamut quantity” so it might probably produce over 40,000 colours, in line with E Ink, whereas rising “white reflectance” and distinction. The firm additionally claims that the refresh price enhancements launched with Kaleido 4 imply it might probably show video content material at 18 fps. That sounds ridiculous when in comparison with the 120Hz OLED display you would possibly have already got in your smartphone, however for the sometimes sluggish refresh charges of e-paper, it is significant.

Because E Ink’s screens are utilized by a number of the largest names in e-readers, like Amazon, Kobo and Boox, the enhancements supplied by Kaleido 4 might imply your subsequent e-reader could have extra correct colour photos, with out compromising as a lot on the readability of black and white textual content. The relative fuzziness of textual content on older Kaleido 3 shows is considered one of their drawbacks, and why some companies use Gallery 3, considered one of E Ink’s different colour e-paper applied sciences. Kaleido shows apply a colour filter to the black and white pigments that transfer round to type textual content and pictures on a standard e-paper panel. E Ink’s Gallery shows use coloured pigments, which produce richer photos and textual content, however take longer to refresh.

E Ink says the addition of an oxide backplate to its show stack improves refresh charges on the Kaleido 4, an identical modification Amazon stated it made to the Kaleido screens used within the unique Kindle Colorsoft. We’ll have to match the brand new tech alongside older Kaleido shows to see how large of a distinction E Ink’s enhancements have made, however for now, Kaleido 4 is just formally being utilized in one gadget: Hanvon Technology’s M10 C II. The e-paper pill is just obtainable in China and ships with a Kaleido 4 display, a redesigned entrance gentle and micro-etched glass that gives a extra paper-like really feel whenever you write on it.