The first folding e-reader is smaller than a paperback
Smartphones with folding OLED screens have been around for over six years, but China’s Readmoo is the first company to announce a consumer-ready e-reader with a folding E Ink display. Details on when its mooInk V will ship, or how much it will cost, haven’t been announced. Yet the company says it has spent nine years working with E Ink to develop an electronic paper screen they claim can survive over 200,000 bends.
When opened, the mooInk V has an 8-inch touchscreen based on E Ink’s Gallery 3 display technology. Unlike the Kaleido 3 screen in the Kindle Colorsoft, which relies on a color filter over a black-and-white E Ink panel that limits color reproduction to just 4,096 shades, Gallery 3 uses colored ink capsules that can produce over 50,000 shades at a resolution of 300ppi. Only a small number of devices currently use the Gallery 3 technology, like last year’s Remarkable Paper Pro.
Although E Ink has demonstrated prototypes of folding e-readers in the past, its display technology is much thicker than OLED panels, making it more difficult to design a reliable hinge and a screen that can survive the rigors of daily use. That’s the main reason it’s taken Readmoo so long to develop and refine the folding panel used in its mooInk V e-reader.
With a body made from lightweight but strong aluminum-magnesium alloy finished with a silver metallic paint, Readmoo says the mooInk V weights around 225 grams, which is just a few grams heavier than the Kindle Colorsoft. Specific dimensions haven’t been revealed, but when folded its dimensions are smaller than a paperback, potentially making it easier to slip into a pocket than a Kindle. The e-reader can also be opened flat for reading, or used at a 90-degree angle, similar to reading a print book, but it remains to be seen how comfortable the ergonomics of holding it that way will be.
It doesn’t look like the two sides of the mooInk V lie perfectly flat against each when the device is folded like phones such as the SamsungGalaxy Z Fold 6 now do. There’s a noticeable gap near the hinge to reduce stress and damage where the E Ink panel actually folds. But it will also be the first folding e-reader to be available for consumers.