4 ms·

Amazon is working on displays that Apple and Samsung can’t match

48 points by ics 13y ago

pinaceae 13y ago
pure, speculative BS. choice quote: "This means there is no way of knowing when, or even if, Amazon will unveil a reflective, full-color display of its own devising." modern journalism, aka pulling shit out of your ass and selling it as insight.
mef 13y ago
The author theorizes that Amazon could combine the Paperwhite display technology with that of Liquivista to create a reflective full-color display, but acknowledges that it might take a decade, or never happen at all, and also there's no evidence to suggest they're currently working on it. Kind of a fluffy piece, no?
- dataminer 13y ago
  Sometimes I wish there was a way to down vote fluff pieces like these.
danjayh 13y ago
I find it interesting that the author blows off mirasol (a technology with working commercial products on the market) as if it's nothing, but spent the rest of the article talking about how great Amazon's hypothetical display is ... despite the fact that Amazon hasn't announced anything, much less demonstrated anything.
Groxx 13y ago
tbh, I suspect the reason ebook readers have been declining in sales is because they all suck. I haven't yet seen one that supports even English and Japanese, much less math / standard comp-sci notation or a third language, or has reasonable typography support. Your average Android tablet does all that and far more, and the prices and weights have been driving down to where they're competing. Add to that that your average Android tablet has far better support for formats, both open and closed (buy an Android, get B&N, Amazon, and almost every other ebook market. Buy a Kindle, get... Amazon), and you're left with the screen on one hand and everything else on the other, and surprise surprise, the other sells better. but this frustrates me largely because I really really want a good e-ink reader, because I love reading on it and I love using it in sunlight and I love more than 12 hours of battery life. And nobody seems willing to hit even the "not a piece of shit" level, just "better than other ebook readers". where the heck did it go wrong? --- </rant> this would be nice to see, but I don't really see any evidence that the tech is right around the corner, much less prepping for release. Lots of words for a hypothetical.
- wwweston 13y ago
  > I haven't yet seen one that supports even English and Japanese, much less math / standard comp-sci notation or a third language, or has reasonable typography support. I don't understand this. My Kindle DX is fairly ancient at this point, but it seems to do OK with english-language books and some math texts as well. I really enjoy it.
  - Scryptonite 13y ago
    He was talking about the combination of English and Japanese, not one or the other as individuals.
    - ics 13y ago
      What about the Japanese Paperwhite? I came close to getting one last December but decided to hold off. The people I've talked to who own it haven't mentioned having any issues. That being said I sympathize with the rest of Groxx's post which is why I'm still hesitant to purchase one. The math type point probably sticks regardless.
- vosper 13y ago
  Your standards for a good e-reader are well outside the norm. Most people simply want something that's small, lightweight, convenient, and easy to read plain text on. The Kindle is all of those things, and cheap to boot. It's a shame that you can't find an e-reader that suits you, but for everyone I know (myself included) the Kindle has made reading much more accessible and practical (especially if you commute on public transport).
  - Groxx 13y ago
    Maybe not so far outside the norm. I want something that can do what books do, better, without having to move them when I move. That's it. I am utterly convinced it's possible with only things available now. None are easy to use, none make it easier to share with friends, none make it easier to organize or find or buy. I can't find any reason for this.
ssafejava 13y ago
The paperwhite is a nice display, and part of the benefit they claim is that the light guide combined with a matte screen reduces the amount of backlighting needed, thus improving battery life. That may be - but another big factor is the relatively anemic chip compared to phones / tablets / laptops. All that aside, I really wish this kind of deliberately misleading comparison would die: http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2012/KC/battery-compare._V389693466_.gif http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2012/KC... Why are laptops and tablets and smartphones measured in raw hours, while the paperwhite is measured in weeks, where one day is half an hour? And then why plot them on the same graph, indicating that they mean the same thing? A graph that wasn't intentionally misleading would show the paperwhite with a bar about 2x the length of the smartphone's - in practice, it gets about 11 hours at full tilt, and about 28 (that's 56 days * .5 hours per day) when conserving power.
kken 13y ago
>Amazon is working on displays that Apple and Samsung can’t match How does that relate to the fact that Amazon actually bought the company that developed the new display technology (Liquavista) from Samsung? Something does not add up...

48 points by ics 13y ago

pure, speculative BS. choice quote: "This means there is no way of knowing when, or even if, Amazon will unveil a reflective, full-color display of its own devising." modern journalism, aka pulling shit out of your ass and selling it as insight.

mef 13y ago

The author theorizes that Amazon could combine the Paperwhite display technology with that of Liquivista to create a reflective full-color display, but acknowledges that it might take a decade, or never happen at all, and also there's no evidence to suggest they're currently working on it. Kind of a fluffy piece, no?

dataminer 13y ago
Sometimes I wish there was a way to down vote fluff pieces like these.

danjayh 13y ago

I find it interesting that the author blows off mirasol (a technology with working commercial products on the market) as if it's nothing, but spent the rest of the article talking about how great Amazon's hypothetical display is ... despite the fact that Amazon hasn't announced anything, much less demonstrated anything.

Groxx 13y ago

tbh, I suspect the reason ebook readers have been declining in sales is because they all suck. I haven't yet seen one that supports even English and Japanese, much less math / standard comp-sci notation or a third language, or has reasonable typography support. Your average Android tablet does all that and far more, and the prices and weights have been driving down to where they're competing. Add to that that your average Android tablet has far better support for formats, both open and closed (buy an Android, get B&N, Amazon, and almost every other ebook market. Buy a Kindle, get... Amazon), and you're left with the screen on one hand and everything else on the other, and surprise surprise, the other sells better. but this frustrates me largely because I really really want a good e-ink reader, because I love reading on it and I love using it in sunlight and I love more than 12 hours of battery life. And nobody seems willing to hit even the "not a piece of shit" level, just "better than other ebook readers". where the heck did it go wrong? --- </rant> this would be nice to see, but I don't really see any evidence that the tech is right around the corner, much less prepping for release. Lots of words for a hypothetical.

wwweston 13y ago
> I haven't yet seen one that supports even English and Japanese, much less math / standard comp-sci notation or a third language, or has reasonable typography support. I don't understand this. My Kindle DX is fairly ancient at this point, but it seems to do OK with english-language books and some math texts as well. I really enjoy it.
- Scryptonite 13y ago
  He was talking about the combination of English and Japanese, not one or the other as individuals.
  - ics 13y ago
    What about the Japanese Paperwhite? I came close to getting one last December but decided to hold off. The people I've talked to who own it haven't mentioned having any issues. That being said I sympathize with the rest of Groxx's post which is why I'm still hesitant to purchase one. The math type point probably sticks regardless.
vosper 13y ago
Your standards for a good e-reader are well outside the norm. Most people simply want something that's small, lightweight, convenient, and easy to read plain text on. The Kindle is all of those things, and cheap to boot. It's a shame that you can't find an e-reader that suits you, but for everyone I know (myself included) the Kindle has made reading much more accessible and practical (especially if you commute on public transport).
- Groxx 13y ago
  Maybe not so far outside the norm. I want something that can do what books do, better, without having to move them when I move. That's it. I am utterly convinced it's possible with only things available now. None are easy to use, none make it easier to share with friends, none make it easier to organize or find or buy. I can't find any reason for this.

ssafejava 13y ago

The paperwhite is a nice display, and part of the benefit they claim is that the light guide combined with a matte screen reduces the amount of backlighting needed, thus improving battery life. That may be - but another big factor is the relatively anemic chip compared to phones / tablets / laptops. All that aside, I really wish this kind of deliberately misleading comparison would die: http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2012/KC/battery-compare._V389693466_.gif http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2012/KC... Why are laptops and tablets and smartphones measured in raw hours, while the paperwhite is measured in weeks, where one day is half an hour? And then why plot them on the same graph, indicating that they mean the same thing? A graph that wasn't intentionally misleading would show the paperwhite with a bar about 2x the length of the smartphone's - in practice, it gets about 11 hours at full tilt, and about 28 (that's 56 days * .5 hours per day) when conserving power.

kken 13y ago

>Amazon is working on displays that Apple and Samsung can’t match How does that relate to the fact that Amazon actually bought the company that developed the new display technology (Liquavista) from Samsung? Something does not add up...