The rumor-mongers at Digitimes have come up with another juicy story today. They’re reporting on a story in a local Chinese business newspaper. According to Economic Daily News, E-ink has landed its first order for 6″ Triton E-ink screens.
Amazon is due to accept the first shipments in March, with total number of units expected to hit 3 million this year. There’s no hint on the ship date, but Amazon could easily have the Kindle Color on store shelves this year.
I usually have to suppress my gag reflex while writing about Digitimes rumors, but this time around I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they’re probably correct.
I’ve checked with my source at E-ink and he has not yet denied this story. This particular source is the one that told me that told me that confirmed that Sony has interesting plans for E-ink screens. He would know about this new Amazon contract, and the fact that he hasn’t denied it speaks volumes.
Update: My source just now checked his email (it’s a holiday) and called me. This is absolutely not true. It is a complete and utter fiction. In fact, I have been told that Amazon couldn’t be shipping a color E-ink Kindle for at least the next year. That’s how long it would take to set up production line, which hasn’t happened yet.
E-ink has reportedly been ready to make the Triton screens for some years now, but it wasn’t until last summer that the screen finally hit the market in China. This was the 9.7″ Triton screen, not 6″. The same device has recently started shipping in the US and Russia as the Ectaco Jetbook Color.
I have a Jetbook Color, and I really hope that the Kindle Color doesn’t have a screen that is as gray as on this ereader. This isn’t a light gray like you might expect on one of E-ink’s screens; it’s more like a medium to dark gray. It’s actually darker than the screen on the original Kindle.
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Is it the same gen technology?
Yes.
March delivery means a May-june delivery at the earliest.
Could be July if they’re looking to price them low and need to stockpile a lot of them.
I don’t see how they can price them too high, though.
$299 for a 3G version looks to be the top the market will bear, no?
$199 WiFi-only might be most likely.
Main problem I see is the 6in screen size.
The best use for color displays–magazines and kids books–really needs 8in-plus screens.
Plus, Triton screens aren’t all that saturated, are they?
With all that, if the price is low enough they’ll move.
Just the words “Color Kindle” are good for about 10 million sales a year.
Amazon Will Release Color e-Ink Kindles This Year [RUMOR] // Feb 20, 2012 at 2:17 pm
[...] Nate over at The Digital Reader contacted a source at E Ink and said: ”My source just now checked his email (it’s a holiday) and called me. This is absolutely [...]
Amazon NOT Releasing a 6 inch Color Kindle in March | Netbooknews - Netbooks, Netbook Reviews, Smartbooks and more // Feb 21, 2012 at 5:45 am
[...] EInk display order placed by Amazon. It turns out that the story is complete rumor according to Nate from the Digital Reader, and his source gives a few reasons why this a 6 inch color Kindle this year is [...]
eReading-Schnipsel « Walfischbucht // Feb 21, 2012 at 8:50 am
[...] 6-Zoll-E-Ink-Displays anstrebt, dürfte sich nach der Rückmeldung der Kontakte von Nate Hoffelder, die dieser hier wiedergibt, als Ente herausgestellt [...]
e-book-news.de » Kindle Color: Farbiges E-Ink-Display noch im Sommer 2012? // Feb 21, 2012 at 11:02 am
[...] mit Graustufen vorlieb nehmen. Denn manche Branchenkenner halten es bereits rein logistisch für zweifelhaft, dass Amazon vor 2013 ein Color-Kindle in die Regale bringen [...]
this is probably the problem of “news” organizations conflating reports about EINK HOLDINGS with only being about epd eink displays. it probably means that EINK HOLDINGS has taken orders from Amazon for FFS LCD displays from the Hydis division
yes, I see E ink sell Hydis LCD screens for Kindle Fire:
http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/cracking-open-the-amazon-kindle-fire/6328630?seq=29
Amazon su un Kindle Color? Non è vero - Netbook News // Feb 22, 2012 at 3:33 am
[...] degli ereader a colori. Quindi dobbiamo aspettarci un Kindle Color tra qualche mese?No, perché Amazon non ha nessuna intenzione di mettere a listino un prodotto del genere prima del prossimo anno. C’è [...]
Il nuovo Kindle sarà un eReader eInk a colori? Non a breve // Feb 23, 2012 at 3:58 am
[...] però deludere chi ci aveva creduto: i blog meglio informati sull’argomento, tra i quali The Digital Reader, smentiscono la notizia e la ridimensionano parecchio: eInk non sarebbe ancora in grado di fornire [...]
eReader Market to Shrink This Quarter? - The Digital Reader // Mar 6, 2012 at 11:00 am
[...] of salt. Digitimes doesn’t have the best record for reporting leaked rumors (remember the color Kindle?), and that suggests that they don’t have the best contacts with gadget and component [...]
Color Kindle Rumor Rears Its Head Again - The Digital Reader // May 10, 2012 at 3:49 am
[...] part about the color E-ink screen is the hardest to swallow. You might recall the last time that Digitimes dug up this rumor, when my source at E-ink said that they didn’t have a 6″ color E-ink screen in [...]
I hope that it will support arabic language, like pocketbook e-reader