Apple should totally steal the new Amazon Kindle’s micro-etched display

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kindle-voyage-e-reader-theverge-1_1320.0
The Kindle Voyage's new micro-etched glass display. Image via the Verge.

I love my iPad mini, but the “tablet” I love reading on most isn’t an iPad, it’s my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader. It’s just a fantastically pure device that strips away everything that gets in the way of its major purpose: to read digital books as comfortably as possible.

So I was excited when Amazon announced it’s next-generation Kindle e-reader today. Called the Kindle Voyage, it’s a higher resolution Kindle with 300 pixels per inch, a new pressure sensitive bezel for page turning, and intelligent front lighting.

But that’s not why I’m excited about it: I’m excited because it has an awesome new glass panel on the front that boasts technology my iPad could use.

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One of the reasons the Paperwhite is such a joy to read e-books on is because it lacks the iPad’s front glass panel. Instead, it has a matte, sidelit display that doesn’t pick up ambient light glare. The result is that while touching the Paperwhite’s touch display isn’t quite as pleasant as jabbing your finger against an iPad’s screen, the text is much easier to read, especially in bright light.

The Kindle Voyage has a glass screen, just like the iPad. But according to early reports, it doesn’t pick up the glare that an iPad does in ambient light. Instead, Amazon has micro-etched a matted texture into the glass so it is non-reflective in sunlight.

Clever! Imagine if that sort of tech came to the iPad, or the iPhone: it would make not being able to see your screen in bright light a thing of the past.

You can pre-order the Kindle Voyage now for $199.

Via: The Verge

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