E Ink has demonstrated the first eBook reader to use the firm's colour screen technology.
According to E Ink, the Hanvon Colour WISEreader uses the company's Triton Imaging Film technology to deliver the same 16 levels of grayscale seen in Sony's Reader and the Kindle, but with the addition of “thousands of colours”.
The company claims the move to colour addresses one of the key advantages enjoyed by tablets, while maintaining its existing benefits, such as readability in sunlight and low power consumption.
“The introduction of our Triton Imaging Film further closes the digital divide between paper and electronic displays,” said Sriram Peruvemba, vice president of marketing and sales at E Ink. “It represents an important step that will bring e-publishing products more mainstream.”
E Ink is showing the technology at the FPD International show in Japan this week, but did not say whether Hanvon, the largest supplier of eReaders in China, would be bringing the device to Australia. However, the company does expect the technology to arrive next year.