Summertime — ah these wonderful lazy, hazy days of summer! Going to the beach anyone? Pack your sunscreen and the blanket, don’t forget the drinks and snacks and just in case, take that book you wanted to read for months. STOP! Did I say book? I mean electronic book reader of course! And, loaded with a few thousand of the books you wanted to read.

Norbert Hildebrand
Insight Media Analyst

Well, here we have it - the perfect scenario for the EBR. Something the iPad can’t touch - reading outside in direct sunlight. Just yesterday Amazon announced their newest addition to the EBR line-up: the Graphite Kindle DX. The larger sibling of the Kindle 2 comes with a brand new improved 9.7" E-Ink display and packs the same 3G access (from Sprint) as before in a dark gray housing. You can get all this for much less money too, $379 for the Graphite DX versus the previous $489 for the DX. This price drop equals 22% of the old price, certainly significant, but less than the 27% price drop Amazon announced for the Kindle 2 after Barnes & Noble lowered their price for the Nook.

As can be seen on the picture, Amazon is going dark with the bezel color. Maybe not a big deal you may think, but from a viewing standpoint the darker bezel makes the E-Ink display look much whiter than against a white bezel.

During a trip to E-Ink this week we had a chance to see the new display against older versions in different mock-ups. The increased contrast ratio (E-Ink claims 50% increase) combined with a better white point and higher reflectivity gives a better appearance, especially when viewed against a dark bezel. It just looks whiter than the specs would indicate. During the same visit we had a chance to see color displays based on the same technology and the higher reflectivity allows them to use denser color filters resulting in more saturated colors. On the negative side, this color display seems to become very dark in lower ambient lighting conditions.

In an unrelated press release Amazon announced that they are releasing a new version of the Kindle app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. This version allows the reader to view video and listen to audio clips embedded in e-books. There are even a few books available that take advantage of these features. Examples included a cookbook and a book for bird watchers.

Is this the predicted merge of different media? As before, we will see that a feature is being first used for the sake of using it and not because it is necessary within the context of the content. (Remember those first color movies and ever wondered if anyone would really wear those very colorful garments?) Further down the road someone will certainly figure out how to merge different entertainment media to create a new art form. By then, we will hopefully have the promised low power, full power video displays many are working on.

Thinking about new displays, Pixel Qi released a 10.1" Do It Yourself replacement display for the Samsung N130 and the Lenovo S10-2. For a mere $275 you can change the display yourself and make your netbook outdoor ready just in time for summer. As shown on their website (www.pixelqi.com), their transflective display allows good outdoor use, but when inside, users can adjust the backlight level to maintain a similar level of brightness. This is marketed as a green attribute. Expect this display to find its way into original products soon. And, did I mention that they sold out within a day? Maybe there is something about this mobility requirement after all.

So where is the ‘business as usual’ aspect in this article? With all the hype of new mobile product introductions over the last few months we might be witnessing the development of the overall market. Product developments are broader than what we have today and content development and delivery is moving forward and device pricing is finally driven by competition in the market. Sounds like a normal business environment to me. And even if we are not there yet, at least we seem to be on the right track.

Note: Due to the Independence Day holiday here in the U.S., there will be no Display Daily on Monday, July 5.