Asus DR-570 E-Reader To Bring OLED Display

MojoKid writes "Reportedly, Asus will be introducing the DR-570 color eReader by the end of 2010, but it won't be just another one in the crowd. In fact, it just might be a game-changer. The reader will supposedly have a 6" screen, but rather than using e-ink like every other reader out there, this one will utilize a color OLED screen. Word is the unit will last a whopping 122 hours on a full charge. It should also be able to run Flash applications, download books over 3G to Wi-Fi, and most likely surf the web, unlike any other reader out there." Asus will be rolling out two other ebook reader models this year as well.

Comments

O RLY?

[Mr_Silver]

In fact, it just might be a game-changer.

Okay...

The reader will supposedly have a 6" screen, but rather than using e-ink like every other reader out there, this one will utilize a color OLED screen.

According to Wikipedia: " OLEDs typically produce only around 200 nits of light leading to poor readability in bright ambient light, such as outdoors "

They're proposing that an OLED E-Reader which cannot be read properly in sunlight will be "game changing". Forgive me for being not quite so optomistic.

Re:O RLY?

[TheRaven64]

I saw this a few days ago, and it sounds like a nice tablet machine. If it's hackable then I'd be very interested in one, especially if I can use it with a Bluetooth keyboard. As an eBook reader, it sounds pretty poor.

Of course, that's assuming that it just has an OLED display. One thing I've been hoping for for a while is a hybrid with eInk under transparent OLED. You'd designate different regions of the screen to the different displays, so you could have colour images and videos in boxes on a text page. For something like a web page, most of the text would be rendered on the eInk display, but videos and images would use the OLED, unless you were in low-power mode, then videos would be disabled and images would be converted to greyscale. Touch a button and it would make the eInk black under the image and use the OLED to show the picture.

Missing the E-ink point.

[onion2k]

The point about e-ink is that it's passive. It doesn't emit light. That's what makes it very easy to read for extended periods. Throw that away and you might as well go back to reading books on your laptop.

Re:Missing the E-ink point.

[ipX]

LCDs dont refresh. Please let that very tired meme die.

Er, yes they do. You've misunderstood the actually quite explicit wording of the wiki article. They don't flicker due to refresh, but they sure tear/judder/blur due to refresh. Do some acid and/or shrooms and tell me you don't notice the diff between 60Hz and 120Hz. xD

However, this is not directly relevant to an e-reader, unless it is being used for video.

3) Use monster cables instead of cheap interconnect cables.

No, it's Denon. Get ur references straight. :P

/flamebait

Reportedly

[dangitman]

Reportedly, company X will introduce Product Y, which will make sex-bots obsolete. Not only will it make sex-bots obsolete, it will run for 2,000 hours on a few drops of water-based lubricant. World hunger will be solved by Product Y, which will also be able to read Excel spreadsheets and shoot deadly laser bolts from its nipples. Analysts are excited to see beta versions of Product Y, and would gladly give their first-born children for a glimpse at the device.

Reality check

[McSnickered]

At the bottom of the article is the following update that might put things in a more realistic perspective:

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Update - 1/18/10 - 10:25PM EST:

This just came in from our contacts at Asus here in the US. It looks like things are a bit premature at this point (of course) but it does appear that Asus will be making a major play in this arena in the near future.

"As for the status of the unit, we do have plans to bring a series of innovative products into this market sector. All details about the product(s) are still to be finalized with the goals of outstanding responsiveness and battery life being of prime importance for us to ensure a great end user experience. The mass production schedule is still under discussion as is pricing, availability, and channel selections. However, based on our history with mobile products, the digital reader series will be cost competitive with other solutions while offering a wealth of features.

ASUS believes that content and applications are the keys to success in the market sector. Once we have a concrete software and application plan, we will disclose additional information to you."

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Two Words

[Arthur Grumbine]

Pixel Qi
With the ability to alternate between a black-and-white as-readable-in-direct-light-as-eInk mode and a standard color LCD mode, both with fast (normal LCD) refresh rates, and cost to manufacture on par with current LCD displays, this technology is the future of tablets (which will subsume the eReader market). And the first product, the Notion Ink Adam, is coming out this year.