Pixel Qi's Screen Emerges As E-Ink's Archrival

This is truly awesome stuff. The technology in the screen that's built into Pixel's Qi laptop is a leap forward for reader technology, assuming costs can be kept low. The 10.1" 1024x600 screen is backlit like a normal LCD until you throw a switch that kills the backlight and replaces it with ambient light being reflected off of it just like an e-ink screen. In can even play video in the "e-ink" mode.

It's only the first entry of its kind, but once this technology gets perfected we should start to see more screens like this in the future. That said, it's not quite there yet. We don't know how much more battery power this will drain, only that turning off the backlight saves 2 watts of power. But still! Consider the possibilities! Users could switch from paper-like reflective displays to bright backlit vibrant displays at the push of a button! This is an exciting area to keep an eye on. Check out a video demo at Gizmodo.