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.
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
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
2 responses to “Apple should totally steal the new Amazon Kindle’s micro-etched display”
Although I know e-Ink is more appropriate for reading due to it’s saving of battery life and outdoor visibility, I had thought that e-Ink readers were a dying breed and Apple wouldn’t be messing with it since it’s basically a niche device. Maybe you’re talking about the technology of the glass to be used in an Apple display but that glass may have some undesirable effects that Apple might not like. It is good that Amazon is able to come out with decent tech for its devices considering it’s not a hardware company. Apple has many other things to consider such as how many of those displays can be produced or profit margins.
I do a lot more than just reading so a matte “glass” doesn’t really appeal to me on the whole. But yes if Apple could create a screen that is less reflective with a back light that works better outside I wouldn’t say no.