Smartphones with foldable displays have been around for years. A handful of PC makers have also launched laptops. So what’s next? Foldable eReaders, apparently.
The MooInk V is an eBook reader with an 8 inch E Ink Gallery color ePaper display that can fold in half like a… well, like a book. Developer by Readmoo and E Ink, it’s the first device of its type and it debuted this week at the Touch Taiwan Exhibition.
Readmoo says that when folded the MooInk V is small enough to “fit neatly into a suit jacket or jeans pocket,” but when opened you have a screen large enough for “text books, comics, and picture books.”
The eReeader won’t weight down your pocket too much – it weighs about 9 ounces (255 grams) and features an aluminum magnesium case decorated with silver metallic paint.
While most devices with foldable screens are made with OLED display panels, the MooInk V has an E Ink screen that offers a more paper-like viewing experience. It consumes less power and is easily visible using only ambient light. But the screen is also thicker than a typical OLED display, so Readmoo says “the E Ink Gallery Panel used this time has undergone the development of multiple new materials, stacking optimization and passed 200,000 bending tests” before it was ready for mass production.
E Ink Gallery displays offer better color saturation and sharper text and graphics than E Ink’s more widely used Kaleido display technology. It supports up to 50,000 colors and can display both black and white and color content at resolutions up to 300 pixels per inch.
By comparison, Kaleido 3 displays only support 4096 colors and a Kaleido 3 screen that supports 300 ppi for black and white content drops to 150 ppi when displaying color.
There is a tradeoff though: E Ink Gallery 3 displays have lower screen refresh rates, which is why they’re less common in consumer devices.
Readmoo hasn’t announced when the MooInk V will be available for purchase or how much it will cost.
via The Verge and Good EReader
