Qualcomm announced that it's shutting things down in the Mirasol screen department. The e-reader displays, which can show color and can be read in direct sunlight, were apparently too difficult to manufacture and install in tablets.
Originally shown at CES a couple of years ago, Qualcomm's Mirasol display technology was promised to bridge the gap between LCD and e-ink display technology. And even though Qualcomm dumped a lot of money into building the infrastructure to put the displays into production, their arrival has been very, very slow.
Qualcomm's Mirasol screen technology, which promises full color, low-power, e-ink displays that'll bring Sunday supplements to life like never before, are about to launch. E-reader specialist Kyobo has shown off the first finished product.
For all their critical acclaim, current tablets stink in direct sunlight. That's why Pixel Qi's "transflective" display and similar screens are so promising. Unfortunately, the other serious contender in this field, Qualcomm's Mirasol, just delayed their screen to next year.
eReaders are getting powerful enough to become fully-fledged Internet tablets, but gaming devices? That's a new spin. Turns out Qualcomm has a detachable game controller add-on for that Snapdragon-powered eReader prototype we first showed you on Wednesday. Take a look:
Qualcomm has developed a 5.7-inch (1,024x768) display for ebook readers that not only renders color and video; it does so with enough power efficiency to challenge a black and white, still-frame Kindle.
Ebook readers suffer because they use E-Ink, which isn't in color and doesn't refresh fast enough to do video. Qualcomm is quietly showing off its Mirasol display, now in full color with 30-frame-per-second video. See for yourself:
