Color E Ink Devices Due By End Of 2010 Says PVI

PVI's color E Ink project sounds like it's speeding up, with company chairman Scott Liu saying products using the displays are now expected to be on sale by the end of 2010, rather than sometime in Q1 2011 as previously expected.  The color E Ink panels are currently sampling to manufacturers – Amazon and B&N were both tipped as having seen them – but no definitive partnerships have been made public.  However, it looks unlikely that an imminent Kindle refresh will include the color display; Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently announced that such a device was "a long way out".

Meanwhile there is a new batch of monochrome e-readers using PVI displays expected in Q3 2010, though it seems many of them may be headed for the Chinese market.  PVI has previously said that its color e-ink displays won't offer the sort of bright, saturated hues that LCD and AMOLED screens are capable of, but instead more muted tones and sub-video refresh rates.