Next Amazon Kindle May Light Up Your Night

A TechCruncher recently got a sneak peak at a new Kindle under development in Amazon’s labs, and although most of the device was apparently hidden under cardboard, the premier feature was exposed: a glowing screen.

In late 2010, it seems, Amazon snapped up lighting technology company Oy Modilis and its many patents (and talent) and is working on integrating lighting to the Kindle’s screen. The lighting element will be inserted as a layer in the screen and use energy-efficient LEDs; the whole effect promises to be easier on the eyes than LCD screens used on tablets.


There’s no video of any sort--yet--but Techcrunch’s Devin Coldewey described the experience thusly:

With a tap, a slider popped up on the screen, and as it was dragged to the right, the screen lit up evenly with a rather cool light. In the dark, it was plainly noticeable as a glow, and in uneven light — say, shade or a shuttered room — the slight illumination made the screen much more readable. At full blast it was definitely projecting some light (technically speaking it was reflecting it), but it was still a soft glow and not the harsh flashlight of a backlit LCD.

He also noted that the device is still under development, so plenty could change between now and when we actually see a lighted screen on some future generation of the Kindle, but in the meantime, we’ll ogle the concept photo and dream.