Earlier this week, Hanvon Technology announced that it will be the first to sell an e-reader with a color E Ink display. The device will be available in March 2011 in China and it may be available in the U.S. in the future.
It is important to note that the screen will feature muted colors and not vibrant colors like a LCD screen. Color E Ink is created by placing a color filter over the black and white display. Like the black and white version, color E Ink will not be able to handle full-motion video because of the slow refresh rate. However, the device will still include a long battery life and the ability to read in the bright sunlight.
According to an article in The New York Times, Amazon and Sony plan to wait until the color E Ink technology matures before adding it to their devices. Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading business division, noted, “On a list of things that people want in e-readers, color always comes up. There’s no question that color is extremely logical. But it has to be vibrant color. We’re not willing to give up the true black-and-white reading experience.”
