Bigme has just released the first e-note and e-reader that employs the latest generation E INK Kaleido 3 e-paper. This new e-paper screen can display brighter colours and higher resolution for both the black and white display and colour. A broader colour palette is available with the accompanied stylus when drawing on the screen. You will notice brighter colours when looking at a PDF file, Webtoon novel, browsing the internet or using Android apps downloaded from Google Play.
Kaleido 3 displays are better than Gallery 3 right now. This is because K3 uses a colour filter array that is just another layer on the e-paper display; it is right underneath the touchscreen and beneath the front-light display and colour temperature system to provide warm and excellent lighting. There are no latency issues with K3 since the technology was initially developed to be economically viable for e-reader companies to use in products. K3 can display black and white with 300 PPI and colour with 150 PPI, and K2 can only display colour with 100 PPI, so the extra PPI makes a difference, especially in large screen e-readers and e-notes.
Gallery 3 uses an entirely new e-paper system, which has its roots in Advanced Color E-paper, developed initially with digital signage in mind. The refresh system took 20 seconds since the tech showed menus or other content where the state never changed on the screen. E INK wanted to bring this screen to e-readers and e-notes, and a few different devices have been released or are in the pipeline to be released sometime in 2023. The benefit of this screen is it can display over 50,000 different colours using CMYK, whereas K3 uses KGB. Since Gallery 3 is so new, there are latency issues, refresh issues and other software bugs that need to be solved. This requires an extensive team to issue firmware updates and fix them constantly. There is also not much documentation online, so anyone working on a Gallery 3 e-note or e-reader is literary a trial by fire.
When the Bigme InkNote Color first came out last year, it used an E INK Kaleido 2 display. Bigme decided to swap out the K2 CFA with the latest-gen Kaleido 3 one. This was the first time in the industry that someone launched a product with one e-paper tech and, midway through the lifecycle, upgraded it and released it without changing the user’s price.
The resolution of Bigme InkNote Color+ can display black and white text at a resolution of 2480 x 1860, leading to a pixel density of 300 PPI and 150 PPI for showing colour. Both are an improvement over the 227 PPI and 117 PPI resolution that the InkNote Color. Also, the InkNote Color+ is a tad bit thicker – 6.9mm – compared to the 6.6mm thickness of the InkNote Color.
The InkNote Color Plus specs and features are identical to its predecessor. The same 2.3Ghz processor makes up the core of the e-note along with 6GB of memory and 128 gigs of storage, further expanding to 512 GB. The display benefits from the 36-level warm and cold light support for the most optimum reading experience in varying lighting conditions. Power comes from a 4000 mAh battery with the Type-C port allowing quick energy refills. Also, there is the same 5MP and rear 8MP camera system onboard.
You can purchase the Good e-Reader X Bigme InkNote Color+ from the Good e-Reader Store for $699.99
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
