Amazon’s Prototype E Ink Kindle Reportedly Using Front-Lit Display
Amazon looks to be revamping the Kindle, this time with a new E-Ink display. E-Ink is considered a better display technology for e-readers and other devices due to the simple fact they are easier on a person’s eyes in comparison to backlit LCD displays. The new Kindle, according to TechCrunch, will be expanding on the E-Ink display tech by using a front-lit display as well. This addition will remove a major issue E-Ink has, put frankly it needs an exterior source of illumination to work. Amazon has added the front-lit display technology in order to add a soft glow which improves readability in darker environments. This is all made possible by Amazons acquisition of Oy Modilis, which they acquired in late 2010. The display tech the new Kindle will use is made up of a layer of laminated material on top of the E-Ink display, which diffuses light evenly across the display’s surface. As it stands, the device seen by TechCrunch was crude at best, being housed in a cardboard enclosure as the design decisions were still being worked out and finalized. Supposedly, the front-lit kindle should launch sometime later in the year.
The device I saw was crudely camouflaged in a sort of cardboard enclosure, but the screen was clearly visible. With a tap, a slider popped up on the screen, and as it was dragged to the right, the screen lit up evenly with a rather cool light. In the dark, it was plainly noticeable as a glow, and in uneven light say, shade or a shuttered room the slight illumination made the screen much more readable. At full blast it was definitely projecting some light (technically speaking it was reflecting it), but it was still a soft glow and not the harsh flashlight of a backlit LCD.
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