Up until now it seemed that e-reader enthusiasts have had to make a very important decision. If they want the sunshine-friendly display with unbelievable battery life, they’d go e-ink. If they want bright colors and a vibrant display, they’d go LCD. Well, Hanvon is prepared to give them the best of both worlds.

Also listed as Hanwang in some circles, Hanvon is a Chinese company and it’s getting ready to introduce the first e-reader with a color e-ink display. Since it’s not nearly as well known a name in the Western market as Amazon or Apple, it may not have the same kind of impact. Even so, this is still a very notable announcement.

By going with a color e-ink display, Hanvon could indeed be finding that perfect middle ground for e-book readers. You get color and you get the sunshine-ready screen. The battery life is set up to last for a few weeks at a time too.

I remember seeing some of the Hanvon products at Computex in June. They’re largely targeting the Chinese market, but will other companies adopt the same tech for their own products? Barnes & Noble already moved away from e-ink to an IPS display for the new Nook Color; will they move back to e-ink if it does color?

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Hanvon chairman Yingjian Liu Photo: Michael Kwan

Chinese company Hanvon, makers of the Touchpad B10 tablet, are also known as Hanwang.  Chairman Yingjian Liu during a keynote speech at Computex 2010,  discussed the increasing popularity and evolution of the e-book reader. He proclaimed the strengths of the e-ink format and how his company was leading the way in his home country of China.  Then, his declarations got very bold. He called the e-book reader the “fourth screen,” referring to TV, PC, and cell phone as the other three screens. He observed that some people say the mobile phone will replace the e-reader, but he responded by saying that the e-ink book reader will replace cell phones instead.

It’s possible that something was lost in translation (he was speaking in Chinese and I was listening to the English interpreter), but I don’t think this Hanvon prediction will hold.  Everyone brings a phone with them everywhere, but I don’t foresee people carrying around their Kindles in the same way… and it’s not like people are going to use an iPad-like device to make quick phone calls in lieu of using an iPhone, right?

e-Reader e-ink displays are the "4th screen" Photo: Michael Kwan

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