The mirasol appeal, of course, is the combination of E-Ink style low power consumption but with video-capable refresh rates, as well as outdoor visibility. mirasol builds on the same light-bouncing principles that make a butterfly’s wings shimmer, only Qualcomm uses it to produce a color display that gets brighter and more color-saturated the more light is directed at it.

Design-wise, we’re guessing all of the four mirasol ereaders we’ve seen so far – the Kyobo model, the Bamboo Sunflower, the Hanvon C18 and this new Koobe version – are all based on Qualcomm’s own reference design. That would explain the lack of pure tablets using mirasol; Qualcomm had always said it intended to target ereaders first, though larger mirasol panels for iPad-rivals are also in the pipeline.

Koobe says the Jin Yong eReader will include WiFi and come preloaded with content by the Chinese author it’s named after. No word on pricing, nor when we might see a version arrive in North America or Europe.

We got our very own hands-on look at the current (second-generation) Qualcomm Mirasol display a few weeks ago at CES 2012. What we saw was a fabulous bit of hope for the future but, for a production model, not quite ready for the mass market. That said, the brightness and the butterfly effect (in more ways than one) will have a massive impact on the market in the near future:

What you’re seeing is the Kyobo Mirasol eReader in its current lovely form. Note that Qualcomm’s purchase of Pixtronix is sure to take effect on future products rather than this current model e-reader. Pixtronix is a business established in 2005 by a fellow named Nesbitt Hagood with one 5-inch prototype display currently associated with Chimei Innolux. What this and future Pixtronix displays are set to do is correct color accuracy in Mirasol-based displays for the Qualcomm group – perfection coming up!

[via Electronista]

The Galaxy Note is what Samsung is placing in its own category, saying that it’s not exactly a tablet, yet not exactly a smartphone either. What it does amount to is a pretty neat little in-between complete with Gingerbread, a built-in stylus, and the promise of Ice Cream Sandwich early on in 2012. There’s currently a white as well as a black version, both to be released soon. Another device we’ve got to look forward to soon is the ASUS Padfone, this device having now gone through a couple of iterations since its first announcement and set to be officially unveiled for release at MWC 2012.

For readers there wasn’t one whole heck of a lot of differentiation to be made between the masses, but the Kyobo Mirasol eReader did catch our eye with its unique method of lighting, it’s logo reflecting the butterfly-like feature of the display. There was also the Jetbook Color eReader, a CES award winner, whose maker we got to sit down with and have a talk about.

As for the Windows 8 world, groups like Qualcomm and their S4 chip showed off what WILL be possible in just a few weeks or months. We’ve already also had a look at a developer tablet running Windows 8 inside 2011, but will be looking forward to the full real deal in early 2012.

The team at Acer came to the show swinging, it’s early Sunday showing of their newest Android-based Acer Iconia Tab showing us what it means to rock with a fabulously high definition display and the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core chip inside. They also re-showed a slightly less impressive tablet/laptop combo by the name of Iconia Tab W500, this showing us that they’ve more than likely got better concepts in the works for Windows 8, or we can hope! Toshiba brought with them a couple of slight upgrades from their already released line, one being the smaller version of the Thrive we’ve already reviewed in the Toshiba Thrive 7, bringing then the lovely thin and fully functional Toshiba Excite x10 as well for a real contender in 2012.

Then it was Asus all the way – bringing the fire with not one, not two, but three new tablets that all had a bump over not only their own previous models, but the competition as well. Not to be mistaken for one-another, Asus brought forth two 7-inch MeMO devices, one designated 171, the other called 370t. The first one, the Asus MeMO 171, is rolling out with a Qualcomm 8260 1.2GHz dual-core processor and Honeycomb, also bringing with it a built-in stylus for note-taking glory. The other device, the Asus MeMO 370t, is the real gem of the show as it’s got an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, comes out with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and costs a mere $249. That’s an industry changer, if you did not know.

NVIDIA then stole the show again with Asus’ upgraded Transformer Prime 700 series, complete with a massive display, updated casing, and a bump in the front-facing camera for fun. NVIDIA showed that the Prime (in either its first or second iteration) was capable of using the Tegra 3 processor to the fullest, running Skyrim via Splashtop, moving on to play the first multiplayer mobile shooter in a brand new upgraded version of Shadowgun for Tegra, and displaying the fact that it will be first with Ice Cream Sandwich, officially.

Look like a good showing to you? If you could have any one of these devices in your hands right now, which one would it be? Better yet, when these devices are released to the market, which one are you most likely to buy?

BONUS: Don’t forget the Fujitsu Arrows Tablet, complete with waterproofing, and the Pantech Element, an AT&T-bound tiny tablet with waterproofing as well!

Smartphones

We certainly saw our fair share of smartphones on the floor this time around, the major bulk of them running either Windows Phone Mango or a modified version of Android Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich. One of the more interesting devices was Huawei’s Ascend P1 S, it being the new thinnest phone on earth, and its slightly fatter brother the P1, both of them strikingly thin. Next there were a couple of excellent value propositions, it would seem, from Pantech, they showing off two of the six new devices running on AT&T’s LTE network that’ll be up to speed by late this year – the Pantech Element is a waterproof tablet that, when you buy it, you basically get the Pantech Burst smartphone for free. Sony Experia came correct with their new set of Xperia devices with big specs and gigantic cameras: the Xperia ion having a 12 megapixel camera and the Xperia S being the one teased for so long. For Android phones the winner would have to be the Lenovo Racer-A, aka the first device to be running Intel’s Medfield chip – winning not just because it looks like a quality phone, but because it does indeed hold that record. Intel’s entry into the mobile market is likely going to have the longest lasting effect on the mobile industry while all these other phones get replaced – that’s for sure.

As for Windows Phones I’ll have to call a tie until we can review these devices extensively because they’re both so lovely: the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC Titan II. Both of these devices are bringing Windows Phone into the future, fighting head to head with the top guns at last.

BONUS: Since Samsung is insistent on saying this device is neither a smartphone or a tablet, here it is in the middle: the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy Note. All of its awesome features remain in-tact, it having a Snapdragon processor instead of an Exynos, and it comes in white as well as black, your choice!

- contributed by Chris “Burnsy” Burns

Tablets

As with smartphones, we’ve got a lot to be excited about in the hardware side of things, not least of all with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2 for strength and touchability. As for future-looking devices, the newest iteration of the ASUS Padfone looked oddly enticing. There were also some lovely reader refreshes like the Kyobo Mirasol eReader with its unique form of lighting, it replicating the light bouncing off a butterfly. Windows 8 made a bit of a showing with groups like Qualcomm and their S4 chip showing the possibilities of a Windows 8 mobile world. Acer came back with a new iteration of the Acer Iconia Tab complete with a Tegra 3 quad-core chip. Toshiba made a showing with two devices you might find rather familiar, the smaller version of the Thrive in the Toshiba Thrive 7 and the Toshiba Excite x10, the latter being the one to keep an eye on through 2012.

Then there’s the big guns, both of them winners, both of them coming from no less than Asus and toting, again, the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. First there was the undeniably inexpensively priced $249 7-inch quad-core Ice Cream Sandwich toting Asus MeMO 370t, a value we’re sure one whole heck of a lot of people will not be able to resist. Then there was the big showing of not only the Transformer Prime, but the Transformer Prime 700 series with its upgraded display and hardware. We saw the Prime running Skyrim via Splashtop, playing the first multiplayer mobile shooter in a new version of Shadowgun for Tegra, and all of it on Ice Cream Sandwich as the Transformer is now the world’s first Google-licensed Ice Cream Sandwich tablet.

- contributed by Chris “Burnsy” Burns

Headphones / Earbuds

As always, there was a surplus of new headphones this year. Of them, our top three were InSound by Cygnett, the 5-minute Eeers Sonofit earbuds, and the HD700 from Sennheiser. The InSound had very decent ‘active’ noise cancellation and are extremely comfortable. Though easily portable, they are still not built as well as the Sennheisers. The HD 700 instead implements ‘passive’ noise cancellation, and offers a much cleaner, crisper sound. But at CES, people look for innovation – and that’s why Eers by Sonofit were the best headphones. With Eers, anyone can create a pair of custom-fit earbuds within minutes, all of it for a cool $300 USD.

BONUS: don’t forget the conceptual Parrot Zik by Starck and the wild contributions by Skullcandy in the Mix Master headphones.

- contributed by Sam Koutroulakis

Speakers

Though there were certainly one whole heck of a lot of speakers out there, we’ve decided to concentrate on the smaller world of portable speakers for all you mobile people out there. For that, there are a few gems that stick out. First there’s the SuperTooth Disco 2, an upgrade from the already great Disco 1 model, now with plenty of color and a vertical form factor. As for green representations, we had a talk with the makers of Eink who now bring us the Eton Rukus Solar powered boombox, so green it’s accented with the color green, imagine that! As for the tiniest speaker worth a peek at outside a smartphone, that was clearly the Harman JBL on-tour Micro, complete with Iron Man color scheme! The winner of our hearts in this category would have to be the high-blasting Altec Lansing 5000 series all-in-one speakers, these certainly commanding the hoards when it comes to all-in-one power.

- contributed by Chris “Burnsy” Burns

Laptops

Ultrabooks were the hot ticket for the computer side of CES this year, with every major brand introducing new models at or just before the show. While Toshiba’s Windows 8 prototype wowed us with software and the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga showed off some amazing innovation in form factor, the top prize goes to Dell’s more humble XPS 13. Far from Dell’s usual utilitarian design, the XPS 13 Ultrabook is downright stunning, with a combination aluminum-carbon fiber frame that’s 15% smaller than the MacBook Air. It manages to cram a 13-inch screen into a 12-inch body, and with 300 nits of brightness it should be a joy to use. With a Core i5 or i7 processor, an SSD drive, 4GB of RAM and eight hours of rated battery life, the XPS 13 will be a major contender when it becomes available.

- contributed by Michael Crider

Cameras

There were a few cameras at CES that caught our eye. Canon’s revived PowerShot Digital ELPH 520HS crams some amazingly powerful glass into its tiny body, and Liquid Image’s Xtreme Sports Cams brings some great new features into a growing market. But the obvious winner for the show wasn’t even announced at CES: Nikon’s new flagship, the D4. This monster DSLR sets the standard for its line going forward, with insane ISO capabilities and forward-looking support for QXD. But the real innovation is a major upgrade in video capabilities, with dynamic cropping on the sensor for “zoomed” shots even on prime lenses, and the ability to actively monitor audio and stream video over HDMI. The D4 may well be the benchmark when it comes to DSLR video recording, a segment that has nowhere to go but up. At $6,000 it’s a little on the pricey side, but pro photographers will pay any price for the best – and when it comes to high-definition video in a comfortable DSLR format, the Nikon D4 will give it to them.

- contributed by Michael Crider

Televisions

Televisions were one of the hottest categories at CES this year, but not because of size. Previous shows were all about who can get the biggest panel out, but this year image quality ruled. LG and Samsung both introduced 55-inch OLED TVs with incredibly thin, light bodies, stunning black levels and color reproduction that’s the best we’ve ever seen. The best television of CES is Samsung’s Super OLED HDTV – we’re giving it the top spot because the image displayed was just slightly more vivid than LG’s. It’s a close match, however, and LG has the edge (ba-dum TISH) on style thanks to its 4mm, 16-pound body. Sharp’s battery powered AQUOS Freestyle gets a third place nod, because it’s a handy idea that the market is ready for.

- contributed by Michael Crider

Automotive Concept

There were two stand-out contenders at CES 2012 for automotive concepts, Audi and Mercedes. While our main hands-on write-ups of these two titans are going to be published early next week, I can tell you this now: Audi brought some heavy fire with a setup called Audi connect that included all of their innovations of 2011 including voice commands and Google Earth integration and made it explode with a touch-sensitive dial and a setup newly powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad-core chipset. Mercedes, on the other hand, had several concepts including a very similar in-car screen setup, this time connected to an iPhone, a couple of gesture-activated door demonstrations, and a box inside which a completely gesture-intensive console was shown. Both companies will have massively impressive vehicles in the very near future, that’s for certain.

- contributed by Chris “Burnsy” Burns

Accessories

Here at CES a large focus is also on accessories for all the electronics announced, and while we saw plenty of impressive designs like the new Wrapsol anti-slip pads we’ve decided on one. Cygnett is known for constructing well built, quality cases for phones and tablets, not to mention their durable tablet stands. Since the mobile phone market has exploded everyone has a few cases to offer but Cygnett’s offerings were one of the most memorable. With simple designs that are actually easy to both get on AND off while still protecting the product they were our clear winner.

For a video rundown on a few cases from Cygnett including their new Icon Art series by artist Nathan Jurevicius be sure to check out our Insider Talk with Cygnett Creative Director Sophie Swann.

- Contributed by Cory Gunther

Mobile Carrier

When caught up in the mass of tech news here at CES, we often forget that a team’s mobile collaboration is only as good as the signal they’re running on. There isn’t one, but more like two obstacles a team requires of its carrier to perform at maximum efficiency. The first is consistency; a reliable data signal that will always be there when needed. The second is actual data strength. Processing videos and uploading images over a fast connection is essential if you plan on delivering the best CES coverage. And for both requirements, Verizon 4G LTE was unbeatable for CES 2012. With speeds of up to 14Mbps on the showroom floor and a consistent signal throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center, other carriers couldn’t come close.

- contributed by Sam Koutroulakis

Our most used gear

When the topic of most used gear comes up it could mean anything based on what you did at CES. Some might just answer — my shoes. Obviously we used cameras just about every possible minute. Here at SlashGear we were busy looking for wall power outlets and churning out stories to share with our readers and have as a team came up with a final conclusion. When it comes to outright sheer production MacBook’s rule. When it comes to mobile production it’s actually the complete opposite and Android rules, with only one iPhone on our team with a whole hoard of Galaxy Nexus for the rest.

Apple’s Macbook Pro and Air gave our team most of the tools needed (not counting a few heavy cameras) and our Macs outnumbers PC laptops 6-to-1. When we change over to the mobile aspect it was completely the opposite and we had 2 iPhones compared to about 10 Android smartphones, and 4 LTE Android tablets. With large screens, big batteries and awesome wired/wireless tethering options with Verizon 4G LTE our Android phones were the clear choice — and winner.

- Contributed by Cory Gunther

CES 2012′s Top Innovation: No One

While there certainly have been some interesting bits here and there at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, nothing made us absolutely drop our collective jaws. You could take the winners from the categories above and choose your favorite, sure, but nothing blew us away to the point of saying it absolutely won the show. It seemed as though most companies came to the show as a matter of requirement rather than because they wanted to show off their biggest and best. Instead we’re hoping for quite a few individual showings throughout the year from manufacturers as it continues to be the thing to do when you want the most individual attention.

When Vincent Nguyen, SlashGear’s Editor in Chief, was asked what he thought represented CES this year, his response was simple “nothing.”

The fact that this isn’t the only time we’ve heard this response from not just our own staff, but many of the people we spoke with throughout the convention may well be the first indication that bigger shows like CES are on their way out – what do you think?

We’ve mentioned Qualcomm’s mirasol display technology multiple times here at CES and even received some hands-on with an already available model and those links are all available below. What we have here is the brand new Hanvon that is being touted as the “world’s thinnest and lightest color e-Reader”

The mirasol technology deploys a front-lit LED lighting system rather than the conventional backlights we are familiar with on smartphones, tablets and everything in between. With the mirasol front-lit technology it uses the surrounding and incoming light rather than fight against it.

The Hanvon C18 e-reader features a 5.7″ XGA format (1024 x 768 pixel resolution) mirasol display and of course Qualcomm’s 1.0 GHz Snapdragon™ S2 class processor. No details were given on release dates or pricing but we expect to see and hear more soon.

We’ve been tracking the Mirasol technology for some time and all our coverage is available at the links below. With Mirasol Qualcomm has brought color e-paper technology to eReaders while managing to offer stunning visuals indoors and even better outdoors, while not letting up on battery life.

Qualcomm’s color display technology promises color, video-capable e-paper with battery life akin to monochrome E Ink screens. This particular panel is a 5.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display using Qualcomm’s front-light technology that uses LEDs to make the eReader usable in darkness, and better in direct sunlight. Being front-lit rather than backlit enables the display to not fight with incoming light sources and instead harness the light to enhance and brighten the on screen image. Refresh rate is a big concern with eReaders and from our hands-on video you can clearly see Qualcomm and Mirasol have made some huge strides to their technology.

Kyobo, Korea’s largest bookseller — offers over 100,000 ebooks for the Mirasol eReader, as well as video education content and many other educational options, integration with social networking services and English text-to-speech support. With magazines for the down-time between study classes and possibly 3 weeks of battery life this will be one interesting eReader. The Kyobo eReader is available already starting at $310 USD in South Korea but finally seeing it here in the US means we could be enjoying this technology in markets here soon.

The Bambook Sunflower is built with Qualcomm all the way down to its 1GHz SnapDragon processor and runs a custom reading app on top of Android 2.3. It may likely support more than ebooks with its Mirasol color e-paper screen since Shanda publishes games, music, TV, and video content as well.

It’s not known yet which formats the Bambook Sunflower will support, be it Epub or PDF. And, we don’t know whether it will be locked down. However, what we do know is that it’s priced absurdly at 2999 yuan or about $475 USD, nearly the price of an iPad. It’s expected to ship in February with pre-orders starting now.

[via The Digital Reader]

Viewing angles came in for particular criticism, and NetbookNews felt the colors – especially reds – lacked some of the saturation we’ve seen in earlier Qualcomm demos. The glossy fascia of the Kyobo device didn’t help that either, though that’s something other manufacturers could do differently if they pick up mirasol for their own devices.

Ebooks also took their time to load, though again that’s probably more about Kyobo’s software and hardware pairing than a mirasol issue. Considering it’s a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon lurking inside, faster than most ereaders around, a chip we know that can deliver smooth results on Android phones, hopefully some software optimization will take care of that in future.

There’s still no word on when other manufactures might announce mirasol-based products, though last we heard there were a few deals in the pipeline for a CES 2012 reveal. The Kyobo eReader is available in South Korea only, priced at the equivalent of around $310.

[via The Digital Reader]

The color e-paper is the star of the show here, however, and it looks fantastic with Qualcomm’s front-light LED illumination system. That uses a bezel-mounted light source to mimic direct sunlight on the transflective display: unlike a regular LCD panel, which is washed out in direct lighting, the mirasol screen only gets brighter the more light shining on it.

There’s an interesting point in the video, at around the 1:10 mark, where the front-light goes out and the mirasol screen is left to work solely with ambient lighting. Colors become more muted at that point, though it’s worth remembering even without the LEDs the screen quality can be impressive.

We’re hoping to get our hands on a Kyobo unit soon, and Qualcomm is expected to make more mirasol product announcements at CES 2012 in January.

[via The Digital Reader]

We’ve been tracking mirasol for several years now, Qualcomm’s color display technology that promises color, video-capable e-paper with battery life akin to monochrome E Ink screens. This particular panel is a 5.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display using Qualcomm’s front-light technology that uses LEDs to make the eReader usable in darkness. There’s also a projected capacitive touchscreen, as on the NOOK, and WiFi, though no 3G.

Kyobo – Korea’s leading bookstore – will offer 90,000 ebooks for the mirasol eReader, as well as video education content, integration with social networking services and English text-to-speech support. There’ll also be a searchable dictionary, along with magazines and other content for “downtime” between classes. The retailer is expected to lock down its Gingerbread install, but we can’t imagine that will dissuade the legion of Android hackers likely to find the slate appealing.

Part of that appeal is lengthy battery life, likely to exceed three weeks of regular use. Unfortunately there’s no word on when – or if – the Kyobo eReader might go on sale outside of South Korea, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Qualcomm had some further mirasol announcements to make at CES 2012 in January.

It’s unclear if Jacobs is referring to the “converged ereader” Qualcomm confirmed was in the pipeline at SID 2011 last month. Then, the company said that the 5.7-inch unit would go on sale before the end of 2011.

Jacobs also highlighted that the Japanese earthquake had impacted mirasol production, and that had pushed back availability. He also mentioned that, while mirasol’s color reproduction isn’t as vibrant as that of OLED panels, Qualcomm’s roadmap involves heading toward that point – albeit sacrificing some battery life in the process. However, the company is unable to ramp production volume until the new fab comes online in 2012.

According to the mirasol team, while panels were shipping out to OEMs in time for 2010 releases, as originally promised, the arrival of the iPad left the ereader/tablet segment floundering. Ereader manufacturers had assumed there was no interest in reading on traditional LCD displays, something Apple’s tablet disproved.

That left 5.7-inch mirasol displays ready and waiting to be used, and OEMs wondering exactly how to position them. Thankfully, Qualcomm now says there’ll be at least one “converged ereader” with 3x the regular battery life of a tablet headed to the market before 2011 is out. We shouldn’t hold our breath for Amazon branding, however; apparently Qualcomm’s fab wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Kindle demand, though that could change as more mirasol plants come online.

As for that smartphone concept, it doesn’t actually work and, in fact, unlike Qualcomm’s usual mirasol displays the screen is frozen on a single image. Think of it as a kick in the interferometric modulator for smartphone companies wanting better runtimes from a single charge.

Hardware specifications are in short supply, and indeed it’s not entirely clear which members make up this new family. That could mean a range of tablets – perhaps spanning the 5-inch through to 10-inch form-factors, with maybe 7- and/or 8.9-inch models in-between – or indeed it might see Amazon push out a smartphone-scale device of its own. Amazon might also be considering a set-top box.

That flexibility is because the retailer is expected to use Android Ice Cream Sandwich, Google’s homogenized platform for phones, tablets and Google TV STBs. Amazon is believed to have outsourced development of the software environment to an embedded systems specialist, which will cook up a distinctively different UI for the new range.

As for the holiday launch, the tipsters supposedly “gave the impression” that Amazon was working with Google on the family of devices, shaping up for a Q4 release with Ice Cream Sandwich onboard. There’s also likely to be bundled and subsidized data options, with WiFi and/or 3G; the display, meanwhile, is said by some insiders to use Pixel Qi technology, though Amazon may well be looking at alternatives like Qualcomm’s mirasol.

Qualcomm recently showed off a prototype ereader/tablet design using an LED front-illuminated mirasol screen. That technology was tipped to show up in commercial designs sometime this fall; it’s unclear if they will have Amazon’s brand on them, at this stage. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently told Consumer Reports that while color E Ink panels are “not ready for prime time” as “the colors are very pale,” that “it makes a lot of sense for there to be a low-power, reflective color display. I think that’s something you could build a fantastic product around.”

Much will depend on pricing, of course, but with Amazon’s strength in the marketplace – and the persistent sales success of the Kindle – it would be naive to think it wouldn’t flex that dominance to make its Android devices look competitive against the other tablets it ranges.

[via NetbookNews]

That basically integrates one of those clip-on LED reading lights you see for Amazon’s Kindle and other ereaders, allowing you to read them in the dark. Unlike a clip-on, however, Qualcomm’s system more evenly illuminates the full display, and of course doesn’t extend from the body of the ereader itself.

As you can see from the two mirasol prototypes above – new on the left, old on the right – it makes a big difference to the color e-paper tech. In brighter light the illumination could be shut off to save power, but it makes for a more flexible ereader having the system onboard. Qualcomm is apparently readying a new version with an ambient light sensor, that would automatically fire up the LEDs when they’re needed.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little longer to see these panels show up in commercial ereaders, as word from Qualcomm is that the first products aren’t expected until fall 2011. Still no definitive word on which OEMs have picked up the display technology.

Rather than an all-or-nothing choice of either the electronic paper or LCD panels, the screen would be divided into segments which could selectively be set to show one or the other. That could mean video playback on the top half of the screen, using the color LCD, and text underneath, using the e-paper.

The hardware isn’t the only special thing Apple is hoping to patent, however. The submission also describes a system of intelligent switching which would analyze to what extent the on-screen graphics and text were dynamic and moving, deciding between the two panels automatically depending on which is better suited to the content. So, static text would trigger the e-paper display, while video content would activate the LCD display. Alternatively, the color composition of what was being displayed could trigger the change.

What would of course be necessary is an e-paper or LCD display that could be suitably transparent/translucent to allow the other layer to be seen through. Alternatively, Apple could look to technologies like Qualcomm’s mirasol, which offer both the low power consumption and zero-backlighting requirements of traditional e-paper, but can also show color images at video-friendly refresh rates. Still, mirasol and other color e-ink technologies still lack the saturation and refresh rates of LCD.

[via AppleInsider]

Video after the cut

Now, it’s all a render, not a real device, so we’ll have to take the functionality with a pinch of salt. Still, the idea of a compact tablet with lengthy battery life and running Google’s OS is an appealing one. There’s also an accelerometer for automatic screen rotation, and a touchscreen interface.

Pocketbook hasn’t let slip any details about their mirasol ereader, so we don’t yet know if it’s resolutely ebook-centric or will have tablet-style functionality too. Hopefully all will become clear over the next day or two.

[via The Digital Reader]

Until now, Qualcomm has been producing 5.7-inch mirasol panels, scaled more for small tablet or ereader deployment. However, the company has previously suggested that different sized screens could find their way into other electronics segments.

mirasol is a non-backlit e-paper style display technology that uses Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS) to create color images that are video-capable, unlike E Ink’s e-paper. More information in our hands-on.

That tablet, the PocketBook IQ701, has a 7-inch TFT color touchscreen, and runs Android 2.0. The company is positioning it as a mobile entertainment/ereader hybrid, with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity; there’s no word on when it might reach the market, but we’re guessing it’ll be sooner than the Mirasol.

We’ve been tracking Qualcomm’s mirasol panels since their early, tiny inception back in 2008; more recently, the company has been talking about video-capable ereader devices with longer battery life than could be achieved even with an E Ink display. The exact specifications and functionality of the PocketBook Mirasol are unclear, however, but it’s said – in current prototype form – to do 12fps video.

Qualcomm mirasol prototype demo:

[via The Digital Reader]

Press Release:

PocketBook USA, the North American division of PocketBook International, will display their entire line of e-reader products at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, January 6-9.

One of the world’s top five producers of electronic reading devices, PocketBook sells more than 50,000 e-readers each month through offices in the USA, Germany, Russia, China and the Middle East with a distribution network covering more than 20 countries worldwide.

The company will showcase six different product models — PocketBook Pro 602, Pro 902 – standard models, PocketBook Pro 603, Pro 903 – premium class models, PocketBook IQ701, and Mirasol – PocketBook’s newest model.

The IQ701 offers a number of different features including a seven-inch color TFT touch screen with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. Functioning on the Android 2.0 operating system, this model is best suited for customers seeking entertainment in an e-reader. The newest PocketBook model, Mirasol, features Qualcomm’s full-color Mirasol display which is based on a reflective technology.

It seemingly won’t be ready in time for IFA early next month, however, so we’ll have to make do with the five models the company is willing to tell us about.  Both the Pro 603 and Pro 903 have integrated 3G modems and Wacom touchscreens, too, presumably for ebook annotation.

Each of the ereaders runs Pocketbook’s open-source software and have wireless access to the Bookland ebook store.  Onboard storage is 2GB – we’re guessing it’s expandable – and Foxconn are apparently the OEM tasked with building the new range.  No hard specifications on the Pocketbook IQ tablet, beyond that it will be available in a choice of three colors,

[via Lesen]

The new plant follows Qualcomm’s initial joint-venture with Foxlink, which began producing mirasol displays in April 2010.  The company hopes to further license the technology – which promises the frugality of e-ink displays but with color and video-capable refresh rates – and told us recently that it has a “reasonable” number of customers planning mirasol devices.

According to Cathey, despite what Mollenkopf’s comments implied, the mirasol fabs are up and running, and samples are out with the company’s OEM partners. The confusion, he suggested, was down to volumes: Mollenkopf was “thinking in billions” which, as a new technology, mirasol isn’t yet reaching. However, Qualcomm are on track to make their first shipments before the end of the year, and Cathey expects commercial products to arrive in Q1 2011.

As for what those products might be, Cathey refused to be drawn, only confirming that a range of functionality – ereaders, tablets and combinations of the two segments – was coming from the handful of OEMs working with the first mirasol batch. Qualcomm can’t confirm manufacturer names, only that there are a “reasonable number” for a new display technology. Qualcomm has been collaborating closely with each partner when it comes to integrating the display and making the most of its capabilities. “OEMs know what they’re doing” Cathey said, but Qualcomm’s role is to show “how can the display be used to maximise – and surpass – the user experience.” Key to that is battery management, working out the right sized power pack to balance runtimes with portability.

With the first mirasol products approaching, we asked Cathey what Qualcomm’s next step would be for MEMS technology. As you might expect – and in keeping with Mollenkopf’s recent comments – increasing capacity and volume are the primary goals, though the team is also looking to broaden the product offering. That means an increase in mirasol display sizes and a boost in resolution, beyond the 5.7-inch 1024 x 768 panel currently in production. We’re expecting to hear more at Qualcomm’s iQ 2010 event early next month.

Qualcomm mirasol demo:

The news will come as a disappointment for those would-be Kindle buyers who had held off picking up an iPad or other LCD-based tablet device in the hope that Amazon would introduce a color third-gen model sometime this year.  Previous rumors had tipped the online retail giant as looking at Qualcomm’s mirasol technology, which uses an electromems system capable of color images at video-friendly refresh rates, only with the same outdoor-viewability as the Kindle’s current monochrome displays.

Those displays are produced by E Ink, the industry heavyweight responsible for the bulk of panels used in the monochrome ereader business.  Back in March, news emerged that PVI, the owner of E Ink, had been demonstrating color panel technology to their customers, ahead of mass production in Q4 2010.

However, while the color E Ink displays will be showing up this time next year – with, Peruvemba claims, the sort of color you’d see in a newspaper rather than what we’re used to from LCDs – the shorter refresh rates will take a little more work.  The prototypes are apparently already working in E Ink’s labs, but will take up to three years to actually reach the market.

Still, the color E Ink panels apparently preserve the battery longevity of their monochrome counterparts.  They’ll fact competition from Qualcomm’s mirasol technology, however, which will begin to appear in devices this coming holiday season complete with touchscreens.

Qualcomm mirasol color display demo:

[via E-Reader-info]

We’re still hearing rumors that Amazon are looking at mirasol for their next-gen Kindle, though it’s not something anyone is talking about on the record.  Still, whichever company gets the 5.7-inch, 1024 x 768 panel the results are surprisingly good; Qualcomm aren’t releasing fps figures, but video performance looks pretty smooth.  You can bet we’ll be keeping a close eye on this over the next few months.

Instead, it seems that not only have consumers begun to finally figure out what they might use a tablet for (dare I say the iSlate hardware lust may have prompted some frantic justification as to why a tablet might be an “essential” addition to any Apple-fan’s armoury) but the hardware available has caught up to what’s being asked of it. Chips such as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, Freescale’s i.MX515 and NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 use frugal ARM processors to balance strong multimedia performance with lengthy battery life, while capacitive touchscreens have proven their worth and even transitioned – if not known by their technical name but in terms of “just like the iPhone’s display” – to mainstream consumers. Equally important, we’re finally seeing maturity in core display technology; after AMOLED failed to provide the instant, low-cost, power-sipping boost to the sort of large panels you need for tablet, we’ve got Pixel Qi‘s excellent dual-mode display and alternatives such as Qualcomm’s mirasol headed to market later this year.

Recession or not, manufacturers made ample use of these new technologies to grab their share of the CES pie. Pixel Qi’s display (and the Android OS) was used to great effect in the Notion Ink Adam, while Freescale came up with a low-cost tablet reference design of their own. Meanwhile Lenovo hedged their bets with the distinctive IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, reminiscent of the much-loved HP Compaq tc1100, at work a regular notebook (with a regular processor) and at home a keyboard-less slate with its own, Snapdragon processor and touchscreen. Some of the growing names in tablets and MIDs – Viliv, UMID and others – brought along their new wares too, bostered by a better reception in the mainstream press and blog community than UMPCs could have ever hoped for.

On the face of it, then, it seems churlish to complain about the designs shown, but as a potential end-customer (and someone who owned a tc1100) I’m left wishing some of the final dots had been joined up. I’m talking about what sort of tablet I might spend my own money on, the kind of device that, before the review unit even goes back, I’m online buying for myself so that there’s no downtime in-between. Here’s my ideal tablet, based on the sort of technology we’ve seen over the past seven days, reckon is coming in the next 6-12 months, and takes into account some of the gaps I reckon will still trip up consumers.

I’d start things off with a form-factor in the manner of the IdeaPad U1. Lenovo’s hybrid neatly answers the question many would-be tablet buyers have – what if I need a physical keyboard? – and for my day job, however good handwriting recognition, speech transcription or on-screen keyboards get, a decent ‘board is essential. Of course we’ve had convertible tablet PCs for years, but because everything is permanently attached – albeit with a nifty swivelling hinge – the components in the keyboard section have to be lightweight enough to allow for comfortable carrying. That seems to have resulted in either low-powered components and a sluggish computing experience, or a heavier machine less suited to toting; faster CPUs guzzle more power, so need bigger batteries if you’re not to be tethered to an AC point every half-hour, and batteries add weight.

By adopting a mainstream CPU when the screen is docked in the laptop and a Snapdragon chipset when it’s slate-screen only, Lenovo have gone a long way in addressing that issue. The lingering problem I have is storage: docked, the U1 uses its capacious SSD, but the slate has a separate 16GB of its own flash. I’d be concerned that the files I wanted to access (most likely memory-heavy media) would have been left on the base section. Lenovo could pretty readily address this with a combination of some sort of intelligent sync app, cloud storage and a streaming media service like Spotify; right now, though, we don’t know exactly what happens in terms of data management.

Similarly unknown is power management. Both base and slate have their own battery – Lenovo reckon you’ll see 4-8hrs of runtime in the former mode and 4hrs in the latter – but, when you plug the IdeaPad U1 into the mains, which gets recharged first? I’m hoping Lenovo have prioritized the slate’s battery, after all there’s no point in the notebook base sitting fully charged when the separated display is left lacking.

It also seems a shame that Lenovo have picked a regular LCD display, and that’s where my next donor system steps in. Qualcomm’s mirasol panels are brilliant, if a little small right now, but equally impressive is Pixel Qi’s technology which offers a regular backlit LCD experience together with an electrophoretic reflective mode in which direct light (such as when outdoors) actually makes the display easier to view rather than harder. It’s been demonstrated on Notion Ink’s Adam tablet, one of SlashGear’s standout devices from CES 2010.

Unlike Lenovo’s U1 slate-section, Adam uses the Android OS (with a new, only partially previewed custom UI of Notion Ink’s own development) on an NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset. Until Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon chips arrive later in 2010 I’m leaning toward the Tegra 2 for my fantasy device, if only because – paired with the power-sipping Pixel Qi display – Notion Ink have managed to eke out up to a potential 160hrs of runtime from a regular 3-cell battery. Bear in mind that’s in electrophoretic, “outdoor” mode, in which the Adam is still capable of showing full color video at high frame rates. The company are positioning the Adam as a Kindle-killer, though not only for monochrome ebooks but digital magazines with embedded animation and video.

I’m greedy, though, and want my media tablet integrated with my laptop in some way. After all, what’s to say I won’t read your latest scoop while in slate mode and then want to blog about it myself? That’s why I want to be able to dock the Adam into a notebook base station, not just with a dumb QWERTY like Freescale demonstrated but a full computer with some extra grunt in case there’s video processing to be done.

Will the Apple tablet deliver all this? No, not likely. As Apple have shown with the iPhone and iPod touch, they’re all about onscreen keyboards right now, and any sort of dockable-slate they might come up with would stand too great a risk of cannibalizing the MacBook/MacBook Pro market. Judging by the ongoing rumors, Apple are focusing on media consumption – videos, music, ebooks and other digital content – rather than media production, a camp I’d like my dream-tablet to have at least one foot in. What’s right for me, though, is certainly not what every user is going to be looking for, and I’m curious to hear what SlashGear readers – some of whom I know are big tablet-addicts – might be looking for in a “perfect” device. Let us know in the comments what you’re looking for before you open your wallet.

The mirasol display measures 5.7-inches and runs at 1024 x 768 resolution.  Based on the same properties that make a butterfly’s wings shimmer iridescently, the panel requires no backlighting and in fact performs better in stronger ambient light.  It’s that fact which gives mirasol its potential: compared to LCD it’s incredible power-frugal.  Last month Qualcomm told us that a Kindle could last 20-percent longer if Amazon replaced the regular E Ink screen with a mirasol version, assuming the same sort of content was displayed.  Ask it to display video, meanwhile, and the regular Kindle battery could last about a week with mirasol.

Qualcomm themselves don’t intend to manufacturer ereaders or other hardware; instead they’re shopping the mirasol panels around to OEMs and ODMs as an alternative to e-ink and LCD displays.  Unlike e-ink it’s capable of video playback and the sort of smooth updates you want for video browsing, and indeed Qualcomm are already planning production of larger versions that could fit into a roughly 10-inch slate PC or netbook.

As you can see in the demo footage below, video playback is smooth and generally impressive, and mirasol remains one technology we’re really excited about.  Qualcomm have been in talks with manufacturers for a while now, and expect the first commercial products using mirasol displays to begin shipping this Fall.

Qualcomm mirasol ereader prototype:

Although the prototype ebook reader is currently only a non-functional mock-up – albeit one using a real 5.7-inch mirasol display – Qualcomm are hoping to stress that they don’t see the display technology as being solely for e-readers.  Instead, given that it displays color and is capable of smooth video (as you can see in the video below, which shows a demo 2.2-inch panel at work), your ebook reader could just as easily serve as a mobile gaming handheld, with wireless connectivity for multiplayer titles and – keeping everything in the family – a Snapdragon chipset for the necessary grunt.

Of course, it’s up to OEMs themselves to push out actual hardware, with the current attachment merely a proof of concept.  However Qualcomm’s mirasol team did tell us yesterday that it wasn’t just ebook readers that are on the cards: they’re envisaging touchscreen tablet-style handhelds, UMPC-style computers and more.

Qualcomm 2.2-inch mirasol display:

mirasol borrows the same elements that allow a butterfly’s iridescent wings to shimmer, using tiny flexible membranes that react to electrical charges, overlaid onto a mirrored surface. Light reflected back out through those membranes is refracted so that interfering wavelengths create colors, and because the membranes used are bistable, once they have been set to display a certain color they require virtually no power to maintain it, only if it needs to be changed. The system also needs no color filters, no strong backlighting to be visible in direct sunlight and no polarizing lenses.

It’s important to point out that the device you see here is merely a mock-up the mirasol team have put together, and while non-functional overall the 5.7-inch display panel is from their fab plant and an actual, working unit, its bistable pixels locked into a color image. Qualcomm are working with multiple OEMs – the names of which they wouldn’t disclose – on a variety of ebook reader devices, and while they couldn’t confirm any particular form-factors, they did say there are plans for units with and without QWERTY keyboards, together with touchscreen and non-touchscreen models.

Where mirasol shows its strength is in battery performance. A standard ebook reader – such as the Kindle – could last for roughly 20-percent longer if its monochrome e-ink display was switched for a mirasol panel, assuming the same sort of use. As the mirasol team explained, however, once you start pushing traditional e-ink panel refresh rates, up to the point you can display smooth video, and introduce color, power draw can actual go beyond that of a regular LCD display. A color e-ink video-capable Kindle would last roughly a day using the same battery; meanwhile the same unit with a mirasol panel would last around a week.

While they wouldn’t be drawn on specific figures, the mirasol displays – and the end products set to arrive from OEMs – are apparently roughly equivalent to what current e-ink panels and ebook readers cost now. Wireless connectivity is pretty much guaranteed, that’s certainly the model Qualcomm are pushing OEMs toward (and little surprise, given their wireless heritage), and while 5.7-inch panels are the current sweet spot, there’s no theoretical limit to larger displays.

There’s also no limit to the sort of devices we’ll see; if it has a display and a battery then you can use mirasol. The team there expect ebook readers to evolve into tablet-style devices, only this time with the sort of battery life the first generation of tablets lacked. With touchscreens, optional keyboards and integrated wireless connectivity, they’re betting users will more readily pick up a device they only have to charge weekly rather than every few hours. The 5.7-inch panel in the ebook reader mock-up is an ideal size for a MID or UMPC style handheld, and it’s worth noting that the runtime estimates Qualcomm have been making are based on a Kindle-style battery around 1,500mAh in size.  Smaller panels, meanwhile, could take the pain out of preview displays on digital cameras or camcorders.

As for image quality, like e-ink the mirasol panel performs best in bright lighting, though that’s not to say it’s tough to read in regular conditions. Our photos – which are of a working mirasol panel, remember – were taken in both direct natural light (on an overcast London day) and with halogen lighting, and the colors really popped. Text is crisp and readable, with the 5.7-inch panel running at XGA 1,024 x 768 resolution and around 220ppi.

Best of all, this isn’t some pipe-dream or research project. mirasol have Qualcomm as a parent company and LG as a key hardware partner, and their target of having devices ready and on sale by the end of 2010 seems eminently possible. The company recently won a Wall Street Journal prize for innovation, based on the fact that the mirasol technology is a completely fresh and unique approach to displays, rather than trying to eke color out of e-ink or ween LCD or OLED off their hefty power supplies. As they told SlashGear today, “imagine an e-reader with color and video, but no battery sacrifice”.

Update: Check out the gaming attachment here.

2.2-inch mirasol demo:

The FA300 is not exactly iPod nano thin, in fact while 3-inches long the wedge-shaped PMP is close to an inch deep at its thickest.  It’s lightweight, though, and rugged; Freestyle Audio had one demo unit operation while submerged in water, and the device is also rubber protected for surviving drops and bumps.

mirasol uses the same light-refracting concept behind butterfly wings to create a color display with very little power draw.  Electrically-controlled membranes overlaid onto a mirrored surface can selectively alter the wavelengths of light reflected back out of the display; the interference of different wavelengths lead to the different colors.  Since the mirror uses ambient light to make the screen visible, no backlighting is necessary; the membranes are also bistable, meaning that once set to create a specific color they require virtually no power to maintain it.

In practise, the mirasol displays lacked color saturation and, at 0.9-inches, are small compared to OLED and LCD.  Qualcomm have a 1.4-inch mirasol panel, with 176 x 144 160ppi resolution, lined up for mid-2009 availability, while the company told us that larger displays based on the technology are currently in working prototype form.  Part of the improvement process will be increasing color saturation.

No specific release date or pricing was given for the FA300 PMP.

mirasol uses tiny flexible membranes that react to electrical charges, overlaid onto a mirrored surface; light reflected back out through those membranes is refracted so that interfering wavelengths create colors.  Because the membranes used are bistable, once they have been set to display a certain color they require virtually no power to maintain it, only to change.  The system also needs no color filters, no strong backlighting to be visible in direct sunlight and no polarizing lenses.

The end result is far greater battery life and, in the case of the Skullcandy headphones, a display that can be seen clearly even when taking part in extreme sports such as snowboarding.  In fact, the mirasol display only gets brighter when subjected to direct sunlight. 

Audio quality of the prototype we tried at CTIA was very good, and while the show floor made it difficult to make an especially accurate judgement, we expect the final product to bring some strong competition to prosumer headphones such as the Beats by Dr. Dre and Monster.  Pricing and PMP capacity is yet to be decided, as is exact availability.

Freestyle will be using a 0.9-inch mirasol display in their MP3 player.  Intended for outdoors use (or even underwater), the ruggedized PMP has no set availability date.  It’ll be one of the first such devices with a color display, though; many rivals have either monochrome screens or no screen at all.

mirasol is likely to find more customers in cellular markets, initially replacing LCD and OLED for the external display on clamshells but, as larger screens become available, ousting internal displays as well.  Backlighting the screens on handsets is a major drain on batteries, and as wireless connectivity increases manufacturers will be looking to save power elsewhere.  Qualcomm has not suggested when bigger mirasol displays will be available.

[via Engadget]