Kyobo eReader Shows Muted Mirasol Colors But Solid Video

The mirasol-toting Kyobo eReader continues to taunt us from afar, with its color e-paper display capable of video playback, though first impressions from early hands-on have proved mixed. Both TweakTown and NetbookNews grabbed some playtime in Taipei this week, coming away generally impressed with the screen refresh rates – just under 30fps, so good enough for video – though with some concerns around color quality.

Viewing angles came in for particular criticism, and NetbookNews felt the colors – especially reds – lacked some of the saturation we've seen in earlier Qualcomm demos. The glossy fascia of the Kyobo device didn't help that either, though that's something other manufacturers could do differently if they pick up mirasol for their own devices.

Ebooks also took their time to load, though again that's probably more about Kyobo's software and hardware pairing than a mirasol issue. Considering it's a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon lurking inside, faster than most ereaders around, a chip we know that can deliver smooth results on Android phones, hopefully some software optimization will take care of that in future.

There's still no word on when other manufactures might announce mirasol-based products, though last we heard there were a few deals in the pipeline for a CES 2012 reveal. The Kyobo eReader is available in South Korea only, priced at the equivalent of around $310.

[via The Digital Reader]