TopJoy ButterFly is a Full-Color DES Screen e-Reader with Android 11 (Crowdfunding)

TopJoy ButterFly is a full-color DES screen e-Reader running Android 11 on a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor that appears to be the same Rockchip RK3566 processor used in the upcoming PineNote e-reader.

Two models of the e-Reader are offers with E601 fitted with a 6-inch display and E701 with a larger 7.8-inch display both offering 300 PPI for black & white content and 150 PPI for color, and equipped with 2GB RAM & 32GB storage by default, an option for 4GB RAM and 64GB storage for the larger display.

TopJoy Butterfly specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core A55 processor up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-G52 EE GPU, 0.8 TOPS AI accelerator
• System Memory – 2GB RAM (option for 4GB for E701)
• Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash (option for 64GB for E701)
• Display
  • E601 – 6-inch DES color e-Paper display with 1072 x 1448 resolution; 150 PPI for color, 300 PPI for B&W; capacitive touchscreen; reading front-light
  • E701 – 7.8-inch DES color e-Paper display with 1404 x 1872 resolution; 150 PPI for color, 300 PPI for B&W; capacitive touchscreen; reading front-light
• Audio – Noice-cancelling dual microphone; E701 only: built-in 0.8W speaker
• Connectivity
  • E601 – 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2
  • E701 – Dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2
• USB – 1x USB-C OTG port for charging and data
• Battery
  • E601 – 3.8V/1,500mAh good for about 35 days
  • E701 – 3.8V/3,200mAh good for about 70 days
• Power Supply – 5V via USB-C power
• Dimensions& Weight
  • E601 – 153 x 108.8 x 7.5mm
  • E701 – 193  x 135 x 7.9mm

The E701 model also comes with a 4096-level eraser.

What’s this “DES” we’ve been writing about? Display Electronic Slurry (DES) technology is an alternative to traditional e-ink displays that is said to offer better clarity and “vivid, real colors” resulting in a  more paper-like experience. Goodereader provides further details:

DES modules with reflection structure technology directly uses electronic slurry instead of traditional microcapsules or cups. Reflective structure technology, significantly enhances the reflection brightness and product color saturation of the electronic slurry display, while reducing the effect of anti-reflection and anti-reflection; ITO conductive transparent substrate has a reflective hemispherical structure, thus increasing the conductive gold beads conductive reliability Display the uniformity of electronic slurry printing, improved the display‘s ability to withstand voltage.

When we look at color E-ink display like the PocketBoot Color greyscale resolution is still 300 PPI, but color resolution drops to 100 PPI, against 150 PPI for the DES displays used in Topjoy Butterfly e-Readers.

With better technology (in theory), you’d think it would be more expensive, but it doesn’t appear to be the case at all. Launched on Kickstarter, Butterfly E601 rewards start at $169, while the 7.8-inch model goes for $259 with a stylus pen. Shipping adds $25, and backers should expect their rewards to ship in November 2021 soon after the crowdfunding campaign completes. With still about 25 days to go, the project has been quite popular so far with over $500,000 US raised from close to 2,000 backers.

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