Kindle’s Future: Will Liquavista’s Electrowetting Technology Revolutionize Amazon’s eReaders?

Update: It’s been quite some time since we last heard from Liquavista. To recap: this is the Dutch company known for developing electrowetting displays. In April 2013, Amazon acquired the company from Samsung. Since then, there has been speculation that the screen technology might be used in future Kindle eReaders (and possibly Fire Tablets).

However, the timing for the launch remains uncertain as Amazon, as usual, does not disclose their plans. There have been virtually no tech demonstrations or announcements since the acquisition – until now.

A few days ago, Amazon released a video on YouTube (at the end of the article), where a part of the Liquavista team briefly introduces themselves and enthusiastically describes how great it is to work for a company like Amazon. Aside from these praises, the short film unfortunately doesn’t reveal much content. You don’t see any Liquavista displays or mysterious new devices in action, and the team also doesn’t talk about specific products or similar topics.

Nonetheless, one thing is quite interesting: the timing of the release.

Liquavista as its own display brand?

For roughly the past 2 1/2 years, Amazon hasn’t mentioned Liquavista at all. The only obvious sign of the company’s affiliation with the retail giant was the (somewhat lackluster) note “an Amazon Company” under the Liquavista logo (see below) on the official homepage of the Dutch display specialists.

Now, Amazon has released a video just ahead of the usual period (August to October) for the generational change in eReaders and tablets, which not only puts the company affiliation in the spotlight but also brings Liquavista itself to the forefront.

Furthermore, along with the video, the Dutch company’s logo has been changed. Instead of the old note, at the end of the film and now also on the Liquavista homepage, you see a new logo. This was changed within the last 14 days (presumably on August 7th – the same day the video was posted online).

Old Liquavista logo and new Amazon Liquavista logo

Of course, these are not solid proofs that Amazon will soon introduce an eBook reader with a Liquavista screen, but I don’t think the timing of the video release and logo redesign was coincidental. The “Amazon Liquavista” text strongly suggests that the retail giant might be planning to launch its own display brand for marketing purposes. Note: The new logo closely resembles the Lab126 logo.

Liquavista as an E-Ink competitor

Many eBook fans associate Liquavista with the prospect of e-paper displays offering possible color representation. The Dutch company had already been working for Samsung to develop alternatives to traditional LCD screens that have low power consumption while still offering good color reproduction.

However, the tablet market then experienced a major boost, and the potential power savings with the displays became secondary. At the same time, the focus of eBook readers shifted more towards reading applications, and color reproduction seemed less important than before.

Electrowetting technology is certainly not limited to color displays but is also suitable for monochrome screens, as currently used in eReaders with E-Ink technology.

Liquavista offers some interesting advantages in data sheet comparisons, which have the potential to further improve the reading experience and bring it even closer to a printed page.

In particular, the higher reflectance of up to 60 percent with a maximum contrast ratio of 12:1 brings the display closer to a printed page, which with 70 to 80 percent reflectance and a contrast of 10:1 to 15:1, does not surpass current E-Ink Carta technology (44 percent reflectivity, 15:1 contrast) as much.

In other words, with Liquavista technology, the screen background would be significantly brighter with similar black levels than a currently available E-Ink display.

High-end eReader with new display technology?

Around a year ago, on September 18, 2014, Amazon introduced the Kindle Voyage, which featured an extremely high-resolution 300 ppi display. That was unmatched at the time.

Together with the light sensor, pressure-sensitive page turn buttons, and magnesium casing, the sales price rose significantly compared to the Kindle Paperwhite. The eBook reader is sold for 189 euros – discounts have been rare over the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, the new Paperwhite 3, as well as the competition in the form of the Kobo Glo HD, also feature what’s called a “Retina” display. Both devices, however, are significantly cheaper, diminishing one of the main purchase arguments for the Voyage.

A new display technology would be just the thing to justify the positioning of the high-priced premium model going forward. Whether this will actually happen, we may already see within the next 30 days.

Finally, here’s the Liquavista video mentioned at the beginning:

Original article: Rumors that Amazon would like to release a color version of the Kindle have been around for some time. This is not surprising, as presumably every eBook reader producer has the use of a color e-paper display on their long-term radar. Nate from The Digital Reader now claims to have found evidence – or rather hints – that Amazon might currently be in the process of buying Liquavista. Liquavista is a tech company working on replacement technologies for LCD displays. As part of this, they have already presented a color display particularly suited for static content and therefore ideal for eBook readers due to its low power consumption.

Nate has long suspected that Amazon is interested in acquiring the company, which was previously taken over by Samsung. They seem to be close to this, with Nate basing his assumptions on information about newly established Amazon corporate structures in the Netherlands and newly hired experts from the screen technology sector. Timing-wise, this could also make sense, as it was already mentioned last year, 2013, as the year when the new screen technology based on “electrowetting” could enter mass production.

Should Amazon actually purchase Liquavista, it would certainly not be unlikely for us to see Kindle Color devices based on the new e-paper technology. However, I find it highly unlikely that this would happen as early as 2013. In the 2014 device generation, we might get to enjoy color content playback.