"Specialized tablets" with multitouch first to use Pixel Qi displays

Pixel Qi have announced that their first batch of production displays will be ready shortly, and confirmed that the first recipients for the panels will be "specialized tablet devices with multi-touch".  Project lead Mary Lou Jepsen does not reveal the identity of the manufacturer using the Pixel Qi screens – which work as color LCDs in regular lighting, but can be read as easily as e-ink panels in direct sunlight – but did say that the company's customers will be at CES with her company.

She also says that "increasingly these screens will be super-slim, but some customers prefer the standard thickness".  It seems likely that one or more or Pixel Qi's initial customers would use the displays for ebook readers, since the technology would both support video and low-power text display.

As for DIY use of the Pixel Qi technology, the company is supposedly planning a small-scale sales and distribution scheme for launch sometime in Q1 2010.  This will enable the DIY and hobby community to pick up small numbers of the Pixel Qi panels for use in their own devices; however there's no indication of pricing or when exactly they will be accepting orders.

[via Netbook News]