At CES 2010, Qualcomm made a surprise unveiling of a full-color e-reader display technology called Mirasol that utilized a new reflective technology called IMOD (Interferrometric Modulation) that gave it the color and refresh of an LCD screen, but with the sunlight viewability and low battery consumption of e-paper. At CES 2011, the screen still hasn't been employed in any e-readers yet, but it isn't far from being a reality.
Though Qualcomm couldn't tell me today who will be utilizing the technology in an e-reader/tablet, nor could they say when it should be expected, but judging by the company's readiness to let the public handle its protoype version --as opposed to last year's model, which was only viewed on appointment, and still couldn't be touched-- and time in development, a product offering the unique display should be in the channel this year.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010