Colored e-readers are not new, we’ve had a few coming from the smaller players in the e-reader market, especially from Chinese company Onyx and the Swiss-based Ukrainian brand PocketBook Si. We even tested some here at TechRadar – such as Onyx Boox Nova 3 colors and Color PocketBook InkPad – but we never really liked how colors looked on screen.
They look very pale and undersaturated – and that’s due to limitations in the display technology used so far. Most color printers today use E Ink Kaleido screens, capable of displaying 4,096 colors with a resolution of no more than 100ppi. And the reason the colors are blurry is because the filters are layered on the screen.
Faded colors on e-readers will soon be a thing of the past, however, with E Ink allowing the Gallery 3 display technology (announced early 2022) to be mass-produced and This promises to make color digital reading more popular. much more enjoyable experience – great news for fans of comics and graphic novels.
The E Ink Gallery 3 color screen technology can display more than 50,000 colors – putting Kaleido screens to shame – and at the usual 300ppi to match monochrome screens. It’s important that colors look good and bright thanks to the four-grain per pixel ink system. Cyan, magenta, yellow and white pigments will allow to create a much fuller color gamut.
And this monitor is in mass production for universal use, with PocketBook having announced that its next e-reader – the PocketBook Viva slated to hit shelves in March 2023 – will bring this new screen technology.
Viva is color
When the PocketBook Viva hits the market in March 2023, it will likely be the first 3-color E Ink Gallery color reader on the market; it was definitely the first to be published.
Viva will be an 8-inch tablet, with the same design as its pretty good-looking senior Pocket book era. And, like the Era, it will also have built-in speakers. That’s not what got us excited about trying out Viva; We really want to see how the colors pop on the screen.
Typically, most e-reader manufacturers use their own proprietary front light technology on their devices. However, the Gallery 3 screen is integrated with E Ink’s own ComfortGaze front light technology, which promises to reduce the impact of blue light. According to E Ink, the new screen is capable of reducing blue light by up to 60% – which is important, as color readers can’t adjust the light temperature to prevent images and text from appearing… good , jaundice.
Future Kindle reads in color
PocketBook isn’t the only brand partnering with E Ink to use Gallery 3 displays. Onyx has done the same, but we’ve yet to hear of a color e-ink tablet that uses screen technology. This new from Chinese manufacturer. Other companies have also signed up – iFlyTek, Sharp and iReader to name just a few. When alternatives to the PocketBook Viva will be available, however, is anyone’s guess.
Smaller e-reader makers aside, we’ve yet to see the big players offering customers color options – so far, there’s not a single color Kindle or Kobo. It is understandable that neither Amazon nor Kobo want to use the E Ink Kaleido display and their predecessors, due to compromises.
However, with the availability of the E Ink Gallery 3 display, we expect this to change and the next e-ink device to join us. best book reader rounded will be Kindle or Kobo color. This is hope.
