Hedging the E-ink Bets

So if the past year was all about devices: the Kindle, the iPhone, the Sony Book Reader, the PlasticLogics Reader (which isn’t even out, yet), will next year be about platform agnostics?

Evidence piece #1: Google doesn’t think you want a reader. Or at least, not a specialized reader. They’re going to start selling books right through the browser, recognizing that browsers go pretty much everywhere.

Evidence piece #2: The 3Qi monitor wants to merge what we love about LCDs (color and animation) with what we love about E-ink (low light, easy on the batteries) into a single uber-monitor. Sounds expensive, but then again, it sounds wholly useful right out of the box, too.

Meanwhile, are you aware that the new Alias 2 cell phone uses E-ink? For $79 bucks, you can be texting away on tomorrow’s technology today.