Amazon has released a ‘Reader’s Edition’ of its Kindle Fire HD 8 tablet, which combines the device with a year-long subscription to Kindle Unlimited; a leather cover; and a new feature called Blue Shade. When Blue Shade is turned on, blue light output is suppressed through colour filters. Additionally, display brightness can be lowered to a new low level and colour filtering of the display can be adjusted. The Fire HD 8 Reader’s Edition is available now, for $250.
Germany’s Hy-Line is now stocking a 19″ LCD a-Si IPS panel from LG Display. The LB190E02-SL04 is an ‘almost square’ unit (1280 x 1024, 5:4), capable of operating between 0° and 50°. It is protected by an anti-glare coating. The unit has a 900:1 contrast ratio, 14ms response time, 178° viewing angles and 700 cd/m² of brightness. It is an 8-bit panel, covering 72% of the NTSC gamut, and features an LVDS interface. It will be available this month. Hy-Line supplies the LB190E02-SL04 ready-made, in a kit with a controller, LED driver, OSD and cables.
Indian company Intex has launched a smartphone with an AMOLED display. The Cloud Flash features a 5″ 1920 x 1080 screen and is protected by Gorilla Glass on the front and rear. It costs INR8,500 ($130).
A smartphone has been introduced by KDDI and Kyocera in Japan, which can be washed with soap. As well as being waterproof, the IP58-rated ‘Digno Rafre’ can withstand hot water up to 43° (IP ratings are suited for cold water), and is shock proof (MIL-STD-810G). Spec-wise, the handset has a 5″ display, 1280 x 720 resolution and runs Android 5.1. It features 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It is available now, for ¥52,820 ($430).
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