E Ink

Sony is updating their entire e-reader range. The new readers sport pearl E Ink displays (with faster response rate and 50% increased contrast) and touch panels (Sony has developed a new touch layer that is very responsive). All the new readers are slim, too. Memory has been bumped to 2GB, and the Daily edition has Wi-Fi now in addition to the 3G.

Pocket edition (PRS-350)

The Pocket Edition (PRS-350) has a 5" display and no wireless connection, and will cost $179. The Touch Edition (PRS-650) has a 6" display and no wireless, and will cost $229. The Daily Edition (PRS-950) has a 7" display, Wi-Fi and 3G and will cost $299.

Borders has announced that it's cutting the price of its two e-readers. The Kobo will now cost $129 (down from $149), and the Aluratek will cost $99.99 (down from $119). The Kobo e-reader is a basic 6" E Ink reader, while the Aluratek is a budget 5" reader that uses a monochrome LCD.

Kobo eReader

So the Kobo is now cheaper than the Kindle 3 (the Wi-Fi only version costs $139) - but it doesn't have Wi-Fi and is much more basic than the Kindle.

BenQ is set to launch a solar-powered e-reader (based on the K60, probably) in 2011. The solar-power will probably not be enough to actually power it, and will only be used to extend the battery life. We don't have any more info, but if it'll be based on the K60 (that's the reader in the photo we have from BenQ) than it'll be using a 6" E Ink display, 3G wireless and 2Gb of on board memory (with a microSD slot, too).

BenQ is also showing a concept notebook with a PV cell. but that's just a concept, not a device they actually consider shipping.

Acer has confirmed that the LumiRead e-reader (with a 6" E Ink display, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, 3G and ISBN scanner) will ship in October - at least in Germany. Here's a German advertisement of the LumiRead:

via Engadget

LG Display plans to begin mass production of color 9.7" e-paper panels, and 19" flexible monochrome ones (most likely both are based on E Ink). We don't know LG's plan for the displays, but we can assume they're targeting e-readers, and perhaps newspaper-sized ones, too (for the 19" flexible panels).

LG has unveiled their 19" flexible E Ink panels back in January (shown above). The panels are only 0.3mm thick, and weight just 130 grams. It uses metal foil, and so it can recover its original shape after being bent.

Barnes & Noble say that Nook sales have been higher than expected. "Since launch, sales of Nook have been nothing short of spectacular and consistently above plan," Barnes & Noble said in its earnings, adding that eBook sales are "accelerating week-over-week". B&N actually lost $64 million in the past quarter, and lowered their full-year guidance.

The Nook is available from Barnes & Noble's site, for 199$ (3G) and $149 (Wi-Fi only).

E-Ink-Info has posted an interesting comparison: comparing the iPad's IPS-LCD (or Super-LCD) to the Kindle's E Ink up close. There are two photos. One at 26x magnification, in which you can already see the 'dots' in the LCD (the image on the right):

The second image is at 400x magnification:

As you can see, the E Ink display is way better up close - it's not just a series of dots. So obviously the LCD has a lot of advantages (color, fast response time, bright) and the iPad is great for movies and web - but for reading, nothing beats an EPD...