Pixel Qi isn’t the only company at CES showing low power displays that can easily be read outdoors. While Pixel Qi’s solution allows you to turn on the backlight for a full color LCD experience or turn it off for a low power, high contrast grayscale screen, Qualcomm’s Mirasol solution is a color display that’s viewable in ambient light.
The colors aren’t that bright, and nobody would mistake a Mirasol display for a full color LCD at this point. But the company is working on a front or side-lighting solution that would allow you to use the screens in laptops, tablets, or other devices where you’d want a brighter screen indoors.
For now, Mirasol’s strength is the fact that it lets you view color pictures and text with nothing but ambient lighting, which gives you an E Ink-like experience for eBook readers, but with the added ability to handle full motion video.
The other day a video was released showing what appears to be a PocketBook tablet with a Mirasol display, but while both companies confirmed that they are working with one another, representatives say there’s nothing to announce yet.
Good news all around – I really think all mobile devices should have these reflective multimode displays. We use phone, tablets and even netbooks is such varied lighting conditions that it just makes sense that they main display interface would be useful in more situations. I hope both Pixel Qi and Qualcomm get more manufactures to use their displays. I’m voting with my wallet, I’m buying a Notion Ink Adam as soon as I can. My next notebook/netbook will be one that has an eInk mode…even if that means wanting another year.