Video Hands On With Qualcomm’s Mirasol Display – First Stop eReaders, Next Stop Tablets?

Several of the tablets we saw at CES this year were either labeled eReaders or touted eBook reading as a feature even though they have LCD displays and not e-paper ones. LCD displays aren’t the best for our eyes, though plenty of people read websites and documents on them every day. Still, there is a reason e-Ink and e-paper displays were developed.

As far as we’ve come with electronic paper displays, there are limitations. Price is a big one as the screens cost manufacturers quite a bit of money. Then there’s the issue of color; even the excellent Fujitsu eReader we saw didn’t offer the depth consumers expect from a color screen. The ideal solution would be a display that offered the same quality as LCD without the eye-strain or the power consumption.

Qualcomm’s mirasol display technology addresses many of these issues, resulting in a gorgeous screen that uses light to create color instead of beaming into our eyes like an LCD. When I saw the demo at CES I was incredibly impressed with the quality and depth of color and even moreso with the benefits mirasol is supposed to bring to devices. The big one is the low power consumption which will allow manufacturers to make thin devices that last a long time without big batteries.

The first eReaders with this technology are slated to arrive in Fall of this year and I’m betting it won’t be long before we see other devices with mirasol displays in the near future. As you’ll see in the video below, the screen is great for viewing pictures and video as well as text. Smartbooks, smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices are getting thinner and using less battery life. The last power hog left is the LCD screen — if a netbook can last over 10 hours today, imagine how long it could last with mirasol.