Geek.com has posted an interesting comparison: comparing the iPad's IPS-LCD (or Super-LCD) to the Kindle's E Ink up close. There are two photos. One at 26x magnification, in which you can already see the 'dots' in the LCD (the right image):

The second image is at 400x magnification:

As you can see, the E Ink display is way better up close - it's not just a series of dots. So obviously the LCD has a lot of advantages (color, fast response time, bright), but for reading, nothing beats an EPD...

Engadget has posted a short review of the Kindle DX Graphite. They say that this is a good evolutionary step for the Kindle DX, and the new display has a great contrast ratio, and a better refresh rate when compared to the previous version.

The Graphite Kindle DX is now shipping for $379.

Amazon has just announced the third generation of their popular Kindle e-reader devices. The new Amazon Kindle is smaller, and lighter but still has the same display size. They are using the new 'pearl' displays, which offer an improved contrast (by 50%!). The display size is still 6", 600x800.

There are two versions: Wi-Fi only and WiFi/3G. Both versions will ship on August 27th, and can be pre-ordered now. The Wi-Fi only will cost $139, and will come in Graphite. The 3G version will cost $189, and you can choose between white and Graphite.

E Ink has announced their next-gen display technology called Pearl, to be released in July 2010. This new display has about 50% improved contrast ratio compared to the current Vizplex displays. The Pearl has 16 levels of gray, improved power consumption (and of course they do not require power when images are not changed).

The Pearl is the display used in Amazon's new Graphite Kindle DX, which will ship on July 2010, and cost $379.

Amazon has announced an upgrade to the original Kindle DX: the new Graphite Kindle DX. It has a new 9.7" E Ink display that has 50% improved contrast, and is cheaper - $379 (down from $489!). It still has free US 3G access (Sprint 3G) and 4GB of internal memory. Oh, and it's gray.

The Graphite Kindle DX will ship on July 7th for $379. You can pre-order it now.

There are reports that Amazon plans to introduce the next-generation Kindle in August. The new device will be slimmer, and have a better display - more responsive and with a sharper picture. It won't have a color display, nor a touch one.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, says that a color E Ink is simply "not ready for prime time production" - and it's a "long way out". The Kindle will remain a "dedicated e-reader" moving forward.

Update: we've got a video of the new prototype displays, see below

PVI is now showing 6" and 9.7" color E Ink displays for e-readers at a trade show in Shenzhen, China. The displays are demoing animated color clips, although the refresh rate is not fast enough for video. PVI has shown those screens to Amazon and Barnes & Noble, although they won't say whether there are any plans to use them in future e-readers.

PVI predicts mass-production to start 4Q 2010. The new PVI screens add an extra layer of color-filtering glass on top of a standard E Ink panel. The color screens consume more energy than monochrome ones. PVI also displayed new flexible displays, made from plastic which could make readers lighter and harder to break.

Freescale announced today a new processor called i.MX508 targeted for e-readers. The processor is based on an ARM A8 core and includes an E Ink controller. Freescale says that the chip is fast (800Mhz), efficient and cheap (less than $10 in large volumes). In fact they say that this chip can enable $150 e-readers.

The new chip is faster than Freescale's previous e-reader chips (used in the Amazon Kindle and Sony's Readers, for example) which can result in faster page refresh and can enable new features. As the chip includes an E Ink controller, USB and NAND memory it can help reduce the price of the final product.

Qualcomm is showing their new Mirasol displays, and they look good. It's a 5.7" XGA color screen, that is very power efficient, but faster (can play video), has color, and should be cheaper.

There are rumors that the new displays might be used in future Kindle devices. We'll have to wait and see. In any case, Qualcomm say that the displays will be ready by automn.