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Qualcomm cuts the price of its Toq smartwatch to $250
As you may have noticed, the smartwatch space has been heating up -- not good news for Qualcomm, whose $350 Toq smartwatch has been one the more expensive wearables on the market. The company isn't sitting still, however, and has just revealed that it quietly dropped the Toq's price to $250 on February 21st. The chip designer didn't explain its move, although it's not hard to see the motivation when watches like the Pebble Steel sit at the same price level. Whether or not the discount helps Qualcomm's bottom line, those who couldn't justify the Toq before may want to give it a second look.
Qualcomm's Mirasol smartwatch display debuts in Appscomm Fashioncomm A1
If you walk through a Chinese electronics market, you'll find countless wearables, including a variety of smartwatches. Why, then, is this China-exclusive a significant introduction? Well, the Appscomm Fashioncomm A1 is the first smartwatch to include the Mirasol display we first saw in Qualcomm's Toq prototype, which means that 1.55-inch MEMS panel is actually coming to market. The A1 delivers much of the functionality we experienced with the device in our September hands-on, with an added GSM chipset, enabling you to make and receive calls directly from your wrist. It's not the first watchphone we've seen -- and past iterations can hardly be deemed a success -- but as the first such device to integrate Qualcomm's new Mirasol panel, it's at least worth a casual mention. With the A1, Appscomm is also bundling an integrated camera, letting you snap stills and video clips a la Samsung's Galaxy Gear. There's also Bluetooth connectivity, along with a 450mAh battery that's rated for up to 190 hours of standby time. Smartwatch enthusiasts based in China can pre-order the device for RMB 1,299 ($213) beginning today.
Qualcomm's Toq smartwatch available December 2nd for $350
Where mobile devices are concerned, Qualcomm's normally a behind-the-scenes player, but that's all set to change next month. The company has announced that its Toq smartwatch is coming to the market on December 2nd. Big Q had said that it would knock out a limited run of the hardware back in September, but unlike other next-gen wearables, this one wouldn't be limited to a select few. Packing a Mirasol display, wireless charging and stereo Bluetooth audio, the Toq will set you back $350 -- assuming that you haven't already spent that amount of cash on its most immediate rival.
The once-bright future of color e-paper
It's all too easy to dismiss the optimistic fantasies of yesterday: flying cars and robot servants may have filled the pages of Popular Mechanics in the 1950s, but today we're better grounded in reality, pinning our hopes on more reasonable futures based on technology we've actually developed. Still, even those predictions fall flat sometimes, and it can burn to look back at the track record of a horse we once bet on. For this editor, that stallion was known as color e-paper, a series of dimly hued electronic-paper technologies that teased a future of low-power gadgets with beautiful, sunlight-readable matte displays. Prototypes from half a dozen firms exhibited tantalizing potential for the last half of the 2000s, and then promptly vanished as the decade came to a close. Like many ill-conceived futurist predictions, expectations for this technology gently faded from the consumer hive mind. The legacy of color e-paper may be muted and dim, but its past, at least, is black-and-white: monochrome E Ink set the tone for a decade of reflective, low-power displays. Years before the iPad and other tablets created the so-called third device, sunlight-readable E Ink screens nested into the public consciousness with Amazon's inaugural Kindle. Launched in 2007, it was a blocky, expensive and awkward device that had more potential than practical application, but the visibility of the Amazon brand lifted its stature. Consumers paid attention and the e-reader category was forged.
Qualcomm makes a timely entrance with full-featured Toq Mirasol smartwatch (hands-on video)
Qualcomm's certainly made a name for itself in the mobile chipset space, but the company's past attempts at creating a fully baked consumer device have not been tremendously successful. Take FLO TV, for example. The pocketable television receiver had potential, but a botched execution left the firm with an embarrassing failure. It's this legacy that leaves us cautiously optimistic about today's product introduction, a full-function smartwatch called Toq. Why is Qualcomm designing, marketing and selling a smartwatch, you ask? The answer lies in a troubled display tech called Mirasol. We got our first good look at this low-power color display technology at CES back in 2010. Since then, Mirasol has had a hard time catching on, with manufacturing costs a likely culprit. We've seen new iterations each year, mostly in the form of prototype e-readers, but a decision to shutter production last summer seemingly marked the final straw for the inventive concept. Then, we regained hope following this year's SID Display Week, where two new high-res panels made their debut, including one in a smartwatch. Curiously, that wearable we saw in May bears little resemblance to the product we're meeting today, which you'll find detailed in full after the break.
The Daily Roundup for 05.22.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Qualcomm demos next-gen 2,560 x 1,440 Mirasol display (hands-on video)
We haven't heard about Mirasol for a while now, but Qualcomm's reflective display tech showed up in a few proof-of-concepts on the SID Display Week floor. We got a look at a previously announced 1.5-inch panel embedded on the top of an "always-on" smartphone and on the face of a smartwatch. Though a rep took care to emphasize that these were just mockups, he said the screen will soon show up in some third-party devices. More interesting, though, was the company's next-gen display: a 5.1-inch panel sporting a stunning 2,560 x 1,440 (577 ppi) resolution. Viewed up close, it delivers crisp images, but the reflective display kicks back a silvery tint and colors don't pop as they do on other handsets. But while the sky-high pixel count may not tell the whole story, the screen offers one huge plus: a 6x power advantage over LCD and OLED displays. In practical terms, that means devices could go days without charging. Don't expect to see this guy in your next smartphone, though: by "next-gen," Qualcomm means this tech has a few more years in the R&D phase before it'll be ready to hit a licensee's production line. For now, make do with our hands-on video after the break.%Gallery-189063%
Qualcomm COO Steve Mollenkopf talks 28nm supply, low-end market and displays
It goes without saying that it's been a good year for Qualcomm -- so good that the mobile chipmaker invited us over to its San Diego headquarters to share the story. There we met up with President and COO Steve Mollenkopf, who started off the session by reflecting on the 28nm production "issues" since mid-year. Without naming any participating foundries, Mollenkopf carefully reiterated that the supply struggled to match the "tremendous demand" of the new 28nm Krait-based products at the time, but he thinks Qualcomm will be out of that problem starting this month. "It was something that we had this year and last fiscal year, but moving forward, I don't see that to be an issue," said Mollenkopf. Judging by the increasing number of devices carrying Qualcomm's quad-core chipsets, we certainly hope this is the case.
Qualcomm axes its own Mirasol production, will only bring some devices to market itself
Talk about flying under the radar. While everyone's focus on Qualcomm's results last week centered on the mobile chip business going gangbusters, the company quietly revealed during its fiscal results call that it's backing out of producing Mirasol displays itself. CEO Paul Jacobs instead wants the company licensing out the butterfly-inspired screens to interested companies and will limit its direct commercialization to "certain" devices. The company isn't explaining why beyond the plan more closely matching "addressable opportunities," although the absence of any widescale launches (and unconfirmed but repeated talk of low yields at The Digital Reader) suggests that factory output never quite reached critical mass. We're hoping that someone picks up the color e-reader torch before too long and delivers more than just the reference model derivatives we've seen to date.
Qualcomm buys Pixtronix to make for better Mirasol displays?
Qualcomm's whipped out some flipping great wadges of cash in order to snap up Pixtronix for its PerfectLight MEMS-based display tech. It reportedly cost between $175 - $200 million and is expected to be merged into the company's super-low power Mirasol-based displays. Compared to the Kyobo eReader we played with at CES, PerfectLight has a wider viewing angle (170 degree), supports full speed video playback and much better RGB modulation. Depending on how successful the marriage is, it could spell the end of the final hurdles that have hampered the widespread adoption of the technology.
Hanvon C-18 Mirasol e-reader hands-on (video)
Qualcomm unveiled its new C-18 Mirasol e-reader yesterday, and today, we managed to get our hands on it here at CES. Manufactured by Hanvon, this device is officially labeled as an e-reader, though to be honest, it felt more like a tablet to us. Unlike the lightweight Kindle, the C-18 felt a tad heavy in our hands, with backlighting more typical of a slate than reader. It also runs its own Android skin, which raises some interesting questions of how many Android apps it would support. The color Mirasol display certainly piqued our interests, though we'll have to wait a little bit longer before we get a closer look at it, as the C-18 won't hit the Chinese market until February, with no set date for a US launch yet (price remains equally opaque). For more details, check out our gallery below, along with the hands-on video, after the break. Mat Smith contributed to this report.
Qualcomm shows off new Hanvon Mirasol e-reader, juggles video and text
Alongside the wireless goodness, and new Snapdragons, Qualcomm's pulled out a new Mirasol e-reader. Manufactured by Hanvon, we're promised that 90 percent of content will be in color, and perhaps more notably, it'll be able to juggle both text and video. The e-reader is destined for China, with 150,000 titles and over 100 newspapers to keep our Sino friends in wordage for a while. No word just yet on pricing and launch dates.
Mirasol 5.7-inch eReader hands-on, courtesy of Kyobo and Shanda Bambook
The 5.7-inch Mirasol display is hardly a fresh item these days, but the final product carrying such a unique panel is still young. In fact, it's only become available from Kyobo in South Korea fairly recently, but today we also learned that Chinese content provider Shanda will be offering the same hardware under the Bambook moniker towards the end of this month (obviously aiming for the Chinese New Year rush). The Android-powered device turned out to be chunkier than we expected, but it's probably a nice trade-off for the handy built-in front light and rubber pad on the back. As for performance, the display handled video playback pretty well, but you may spot one or two missed frames here and there due to the lower refresh rate. We'll let you be the judge -- check out our demo video (and a press release) after the break.
Kyobo eReader receives initial review, comes up short despite Mirasol display
If one of your e-reader's components is great but the rest of the device is lacking, where does that leave you? The first review of the Kyobo eReader has arrived and while its Qualcomm-provided Mirasol screen is lauded, that's about it for the good news. Despite the snazzy 5.7-inch touchscreen combined with 1Ghz SnapDragon CPU, WiFi and Android 2.3.5, the package falls apart due to its inability to load apps, subpar battery life and long load times. The reading app crashed frequently during testing, the device was unable to load DRM-protected ebooks even after authorizing with Adobe DE, the reader displays EPUB formats incorrectly, PDF view controls proved poor and YouTube video playback proved slow and stilted. Still, the page turn speed proved slightly faster than that of the Kindle Touch, so why harp on the negatives?
Kyobo eReader with Mirasol display gets video walkthrough, does things E Ink can't
Qualcomm's Mirasol display technology was supposedly inspired by butterfly wings, and its progress over the past year has been appropriately erratic. It was happening, then it wasn't, then it was again -- but only in the Korea-confined Kyobo e-Reader. Despite all the flitting about, however, some consistent promises have been made: a 'converged' screen that's like E Ink because it requires no backlight and lasts for "weeks" on a single charge, and like LCD in its ability to refresh quickly and handle color video. Thanks to Netbook News, we now have some eyes-on of the 5.7-inch, 1024 x 768 Kyobo in action, powered by a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon S2 and Android 2.3, and it's yours for the glimpsing right after the break. There's room for improvement, especially with color saturation, viewing angles and reflectiveness, but we're not quibbling -- this ₩349,000 ($310) device evidently lives up to its central claim.
Kyobo, Qualcomm make Mirasol color displays a reality, with the Kyobo eReader
Don't look now, but Mirasol has just arisen from the dead. Today, Korea's Kyobo Book Centre and Qualcomm jointly unveiled the world's first Mirasol-coated e-reader, just a few months after CEO Paul Jacobs heralded the demise of his company's color e-paper format. The device, known as the Kyobo eReader, sports a 5.7-inch, 1024 x 768 color display with 223ppi and touchscreen capabilities, runs Android 2.3 and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 CPU. Kyobo says you'll be able to use the WiFi-enabled slate for "weeks" on a single charge, as long as you do so at decreased brightness, and for a total of 30 minutes per day. The eReader is available now for around $310, but only in South Korea. There's no indication that it'll be making its way to other markets anytime soon, but in the meantime, sate yourself with a portion of PR, after the break.
Engadget Primed: all mobile displays are not created equal
Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com. The quality of a mobile phone's display is arguably the most important factor to consider when you establish a relationship with a handset. It's inescapable, really. Whether you're playing a rousing game of Robot Unicorn Attack or (regrettably) drunk-dialing an ex, it's the one interface element that you're consistently interacting with. It's your window to the world and your canvas for creation, and if it's lousy, it's going to negatively influence everything you see and do. Today, we're delving into the world of mobile displays, where we're aiming to entertain and edify, and hopefully save you from making regrettable decisions -- when it comes to purchasing new phones, anyway. In this edition of Primed, we'll be examining the different qualities and underlying technologies of several displays, starting with the ubiquitous TFT-LCD and moving through the nascent realm of glasses-free 3D and beyond. We'll also be addressing the importance of resolution and pixel density. Finally, we'll be scoping out a handful of upcoming technologies -- while some are thoroughly intriguing, others are just plain wacky. Go ahead... buy the ticket, take the ride, and join us after the break. It's Primed time.
Qualcomm CEO confirms death of 5.7-inch Mirasol e-reader display, looks forward to 'next version'
Remember that Mirasol e-reader display Qualcomm was hoping to release this year? Yeah, it's not happening. Speaking at a press briefing in San Diego yesterday, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed that the 5.7-inch panel has been abandoned after failing to meet expectations. Instead, the company will devote its attention to the "next version" of the technology, which has Jacobs feeling optimistic: "We have a really interesting roadmap -- we're starting out on e-readers because we figured having E Ink as a competing technology was a good way to get started. But if you think about the power consumption of the screens that are out now [on tablets], they're very bright OLED screens that use up a lot of the power of the battery. We don't today have as vibrant color as an OLED display - but we have a roadmap that gets us to a much brighter color." Presumably, this roadmap would include that low-power "converged e-reader" we heard about a few weeks ago, slated for release by the end of the year. Jacobs also mentioned that Qualcomm is planning to invest a billion dollars in its Taiwan Mirasol plant, which might help produce the kind of volume that, say, Amazon would demand for its Kindle displays. It's all speculation, of course, but Qualcomm certainly seems to have some big plans in store for the rest of the year.
Amazon's Android tablet coming in 10- and 7-inch models with quad-core Tegra power?
We've pretty much accepted that Amazon will release a proper Android tablet in 2011. The details, however, are still unclear. Enter Silicon Valley analyst, Tim Bajarin, who claims to have some inside information from his sources in Taipei. If correct, then we should see Amazon launch a 10-inch LCD tablet before the holidays. He's also heard of a 7-inch model and plans to use NVIDIA's new quad-core Tegra SoC in order to blaze a path into the crowded tablet market. Interestingly enough, Tim's sources say that Amazon wanted to use a switchable "black and white E Ink-like display and a color LCD" hybrid but the two vendors approached (Qualcomm and Pixel Qi?) won't be ready with a suitable display until 2012 or 2013. Of course, Samsung -- the rumored DNA at the core of Amazon's tablet -- has plenty of experience with 10- and 7-inch Android tablets and the decision to go LCD aligns with those rumors of a Fringe Field Switching display reported by DigiTimes earlier this month. So while none of this is verified, at least it gives us something more to chew on while we "stay tuned" for whatever Bezos is cooking.
Mirasol showcases 4.1-inch smartphone concept at SID 2011, promises 'converged e-reader' this year (video)
Another week, another look into the wild, mysterious world of Mirasol. We met with the company for an extended period here at SID 2011, and while the smartphone concept shown above was certainly intriguing, it's the behind-the-scenes story that truly piqued our interest. If you've kept even a loose eye on display technologies, Qualcomm's Mirasol branch has no doubt caught your eye -- in fact, the company seemed overwhelmingly sure that it'd ship consumer products soon after we met with 'em at CES 2010. Yet here we are, nearly 1.5 years later, without a single Mirasol product available on the open market. It begs the question: why? We found out. As the story goes, Mirasol's been shipping displays to partners for years, and it really did have confirmation that partners would be punching products out onto the market soon after 2010 began. But then, the iPad happened. No, seriously -- that's the story. Apple's sudden and calculated tablet launch caused Mirasol's stable of partners to "reevaluate" their launch strategies, and that reevaluating led to the shelving / delaying of every single promising product in the pipeline. One angle in particular seemed to catch everyone off guard; prior to the iPad's launch, most companies (and consumers, for that matter) reckoned that people wouldn't even consider reading on an LCD. Digital bookworms would want E Ink, or better still, a colorized alternative like Mirasol. Come to find out, people actually don't seem to mind reading on LCDs, and in fact, they seem downright appreciative of the extra functionality baked into modern day tablets. As you can imagine, all of that spelled trouble for a display technology like Mirasol. So, where do we sit today? Read on to find out. %Gallery-123860%
