retroremakes
March 1st, 2010, 18:40
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/03/500x_nook_kindle_side.jpg (http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/03/nook_kindle_side.jpg)The silicon inside 90 percent of ereaders out there is made by Freescale, and their new chip, the i.MX508 (http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX508)—based on a ARM Cortex A8 (sorta like the iPad (http://gizmodo.com/5482584/whats-inside-the-ipads-a4)!)—will make them cheaper, and page turns 4x faster.
The chip's a custom SoC that integrates the functions from multiple chips into one—specifically, the E-Ink hardware display controller—along with that Cortex A8, which gives the readers enough juice to turn pages in half a second, versus the two seconds that's typical now. All while cutting costs by $30 a unit. Freescale wagers that with the cost savings, it could drive ereaders to under $150 by the end of the year. (Though that in part depends on how much the E-Ink displays themselves are going to continue to cost.)
An E-Ink reader that costs $150 would definitely look more attractive as a dedicated long-reading device against an iPad that does lots of things on top of reading—and has those fancy digital magazines—than the ones that more like $260 today. Then again, Amazon's working on a full-color multitouch Kindle (http://gizmodo.com/5466859/amazons-working-on-a-full+color-multitouch-kindle-with-wi+fi) with Wi-Fi, if that tells you anything about the future of E-Ink readers (http://gizmodo.com/5443895/e+ink-is-dead-pixel-qis-amazing-transflective-lcd-just-killed-it). In the meantime, I'm all for cheaper. [Freescale (http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX508) via Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aA9h6gBiu5aU) via Digital Daily (http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100301/new-freescale-chip-could-price-kindles-to-move/)]
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More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KaPmwYHWAgk/freescales-imx508-chip-will-make-e+ink-readers-way-cheaper-and-turn-pages-4x-faster)
The chip's a custom SoC that integrates the functions from multiple chips into one—specifically, the E-Ink hardware display controller—along with that Cortex A8, which gives the readers enough juice to turn pages in half a second, versus the two seconds that's typical now. All while cutting costs by $30 a unit. Freescale wagers that with the cost savings, it could drive ereaders to under $150 by the end of the year. (Though that in part depends on how much the E-Ink displays themselves are going to continue to cost.)
An E-Ink reader that costs $150 would definitely look more attractive as a dedicated long-reading device against an iPad that does lots of things on top of reading—and has those fancy digital magazines—than the ones that more like $260 today. Then again, Amazon's working on a full-color multitouch Kindle (http://gizmodo.com/5466859/amazons-working-on-a-full+color-multitouch-kindle-with-wi+fi) with Wi-Fi, if that tells you anything about the future of E-Ink readers (http://gizmodo.com/5443895/e+ink-is-dead-pixel-qis-amazing-transflective-lcd-just-killed-it). In the meantime, I'm all for cheaper. [Freescale (http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX508) via Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aA9h6gBiu5aU) via Digital Daily (http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100301/new-freescale-chip-could-price-kindles-to-move/)]
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More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KaPmwYHWAgk/freescales-imx508-chip-will-make-e+ink-readers-way-cheaper-and-turn-pages-4x-faster)