Kyobo E-Reader with Qualcomm’s Mirasol Color Display

Though not available in any other country except Korea, the Kyobo E-reader has generated great interest the world over as it features the much awaited Mirasol Reflective Colour Display from Qualcomm sitting on the verge of changing the face of most displays.

Kyobo’s E-Reader comes with a 5.7 touchscreen colour display with 1024 x 768 Mirasol display. It runs on 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with Android 2.3 as its OS. Available only in South Korea it is priced at 349,000 won (US$305).

Qualcomm has been experimenting with Mirasol to overcome the shortcomings of the LCD and e-ink screens. LCD consumes too much power while e-ink are slow to refresh.

Mirasol uses a new technology where tiny mirrors change the reflectivity when small voltages are applied bringing shift in colour as you play videos. It requires very little power, just like e-ink has no light of its own and works well in sunlight.

Now that it is commercially tested with Kyobo E-Reader, this technology will be revolutionary as it would mean “weeks of reading” on a single charge for 30 minutes a day usage.

Qualcomm says that they will start full production of its Mirasol display mid 2012. With power saving the new environment friendly mantra, it remains to be seen how many new devices will want to incorporate this new technology.