E Ink, the e-paper specialists behind the displays used in Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader, Sony’s Reader, the keyboard of the Samsung Alias 2 cellphone and various other devices, has been acquired by Prime View International (PVI). The deal, which valued E Ink at $215m, sees the e-paper IP and technology specialists now combined with the manufacturers of the panels themselves.
Bad news for anybody hoping for PVI’s color e-paper before the end of 2009, as the company has pushed back the launch until 2010 having encountered “barriers to achieving satisfactory results”. To make up for the disappointment, however, PVI have tipped a larger ebook reader from Sony later in 2009, to compete with the recently-announced Amazon Kindle DX.
We could soon be seeing broad commercial availability of both flexible e-paper and color e-paper displays, if rumors regarding manufacturer Prime View International (PVI) pan out. Industry sources are suggesting that PVI are preparing to mass produce flexible electrophoretic displays (EPDs), which use a TFT backplane with an electrophoretic frontplane based on E Ink technology, and will follow that up with color displays using the same processes.
SlashGear Japan
