Jetbook Color, the First eReader with a Color E-ink Screen, is Officially Abandoned
Here’s an interesting historical footnote.
Ectaco customer service recently revealed to one Jetbook Color owner that the device was no longer supported, and that the project had been discontinued.
Announced in the summer of 2011 and launched in 2012, the Jetbook Color was the first ebook reader to feature a color E-ink screen. The device came with a 9.7″ screen and cost $500, and was targeted primarily at the educational market.
Given that this was a two year old ereader, it is not unexpected that it is no longer supported. But this still disappointed one Jetbook Color owner, who had recently asked Ectaco about the possibility of a firmware update. He posted their response over at MobileRead:
Thank you for your email. No, there is no any chance. The project is
discontinued.
The original Jetbook Color was a disappointment when it shipped, and even the two updates from Ectaco improved it slightly. My unit had a gray screen and was never very fast at turning the page.
What’s more, it was never able to match the colors or features shown in Ectaco’s promo images:
![slide-jetbook-color[1]](https://the-digital-reader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/slide-jetbook-color1.jpg)
The high price and limited features probably encouraged many to instead invest in an iPad, but in spite of the cool market reception Ectaco pushed ahead, and released an updated model in early 2013. The $500 Jetbook Color 2 had a newer (but still gray) Triton 2 color E-ink screen and otherwise identical hardware, so it is not unreasonable to think that Ectaco could have supported both models.
According to their website, Ectaco is still selling the Jetbook Color 2. It’s not clear whether the later model is still being updated, but I doubt there are enough sales to justify it. This thing costs more than an iPad and does considerably less, and that simple fact will discourage many potential buyers.
Comments
Javi September 10, 2014 um 1:32 pm
Good idea, but tecnology. I don’t understand whit a device like this is not done but the screen Japan Display (the same screen that hasn’t buyers but looks better than this from eink).
Mirasol, Plastic Logic, Bridgestone, Triton… seriously is impossible to make a reflective color display quality?
We’ll have to wait to Liquavista, ClearInk, etc … but after so many years I start to lose faith.
Javi December 2, 2014 um 12:39 pm
juas, IRX Innovations has broken…
Brian S September 11, 2014 um 9:31 am
Fixed your first sentence:
Ectaco customer service recently revealed to THE one Jetbook Color owner…
Nate Hoffelder September 11, 2014 um 11:11 am
Lol, no. There are at least 5 or 6 people who bought one about the same time I did, and a high school in Brooklyn ran a pilot program with 30.
But he could be the last remaining Jetbook owner, that is a possibility.
Alonso Yañez September 14, 2014 um 12:04 am
I have had a very good experience with the Jetbook Color. Despite the slow loading pages, reading from an LCD screen is impossible for my eyes. With the Triton screen i can do it for hours without getting tired. I only regret that such technologies do not continue to improve. Is demonstrated that the LED light produces retinal damage, so it is clear that a different technology for color reading is needed. Japan Display? Liquavista? please do something!
Sergio Nova August 22, 2015 um 10:58 am
Ectaco invested to make the product unsalable. Even been slow and expensive, it would have sold a lot if the device could read comics and news magazines natively; it could not, and they made clear they were not interested in making it possible. They could have released an SDK; they did not.
Once you discriminate the most interested public, are are condemning yourself. It is that simple!