Hanvon To Launch First E-reader With Color E Ink Screen

While e-readers still haven't surpassed the age of grayscale E Ink displays, this leap in quality appears to be drawing closer, especially now that a certain e-reader seller in China is getting ready to announce what is arguably a “world's first” device.

Despite how consumers keep wishing for color on their e-book readers, a viable display option has yet to emerge, mostly because of power requirements.

As such, e-paper displays developed by E Ink are still preeminent in this market segment.

Still, E Ink has also been working on color e-paper, and it seems that Hanvon is about to become the first company to release an e-reader equipped with it.

The e-reader will have a display diagonal length of 9.68 inches, but the screens' ability to show color is just part of its appeal. Apparently, Hanvon has also added a touch panel.

The first sighting of this electronic is slated to occur this very week, during the FPD International 2010 event.

There, one should be able to catch a glimpse of the product in action, perhaps even some knowledge of the complete specifications.

So far, all that is known is that the device will possess wireless connectivity via 3G and WiFi.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Hanvon will unveil any sort of information on the amount of internal storage, or on what file types the e-reader supports.

Considering the need to stay competitive, one could assume that Hanvon threw in support for audio files and, of course, photos of various formats.

The price that the company has in mind is also fairly close to that of tablets, which may suggest that Hanvon could do its best to add a measure of video support as well, though this is pure speculation at this point.

The color e-reader will be priced at $440 once it finally becomes available, although users still have some time to wait.

While the unveiling is about to happen at FPD, market availability will only be attained in March, 2011.