Korea-based LG Display (LGD) will reportedly offer lower-than-average prices for electrophoretic displays (EPDs) in order to land orders from China electronic reading device (e-book) makers, according to market sources.

According to LGD, the company has been mass producing EPDs since the first half of 2008, but it declined to comment on other related information.

LGD’s EPD technology is licensed from Philips, the same source for Taiwan-based Prime View International (PVI), the sources said. LGD’s electrophoresis materials are also supplied by E-Ink, the sources added. [via digitimes]

According to  iSuppli, the device costs $185.49 to manufacture–or about 52-percent of its manufacture suggested retail price.The most expensive piece of the Kindle, unsurprisingly, is the E Ink display at roughly 42-percent of the total material cost. According to iSuppli, the main application chip in the device, manufactured by Freescale Semiconductor–which also powers Microsoft’s Zune and the Ford Sync’s media controls–runs $8.64. Qualcom’s wireless module chip, meanwhile, runs $13.18. Also inside is Novatel Wireless $39.50 wireless data module. Amazon hasn’t commented on iSuppli’s assessment. [via gearlog]

Polymer Vision’s Readius was promised for fall of 2008, but months later there’s no sign of the innovative folding e-paper device.  According to CEO Karl McGoldrick, that’s because the companyneeds more money; he’s currently in talks with investors to refinance both the first Readius device and the in-development Readius 2.  According to McGoldrick, the next-gen Readius will include an ebook reader and cellphone.  That could be used as a cellphone with a hands-free kit, either wired or Bluetooth, as well as used to access internet pages. [via slashgear]

Many of us already know that the Amazon Kindle isn’t the only e-book game in town and there are other offerings that boast the whole e-ink phenomenon. That said, the Kindle is certainly getting a lot more mainstream attention than something like the Sony Reader, largely because of its “free” wireless broadband connection and its deep integration with Amazon.com. But that’s not enough. That’s just the beginning.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the guy behind Fox and other media outlets, says that he is investing in a Kindle competitor. And it’s going to be even more powerful than Amazon’s offering. Murdoch was decidedly cryptic in the interview, not providing very much in terms of details, but the message was there.

More specifically, Rupert Murdoch was quoted as saying:

“We need new models. The first inkling of it is the Kindle. You can get the whole paper there. And you can get the whole of The Wall Street Journal on your BlackBerry. We’re investing in a new device that has a bigger screen, four-color, and you can get everything there.”

Murdoch did not say that News Corp. was creating a device of its own. Instead, they are in “exploratory” talks to invest in another company that can then develop new e-reader and e-ink technologies. This was later confirmed by a News Corp. spokesperson.

The bigger screen may take a little away from the convenience factor, but adding a splash of color can be a huge selling point over the grayscale Kindle. Remember when the first color cell phones hit the scene? Interestingly, Fujitsu already has an e-reader with 260k colors, but that thing costs $1,000. [via mobilemag]

Tony Lewis, who heads an initiative within Verizon Wireless to provide access to non-phone devices, said Wednesday that five companies have approached Verizon about wireless connections for e-readers.

“You’re going to see a lot of e-readers out there,” Lewis said. “The interest level is tremendous.”

Lewis said, refusing to confirm if the company had been in touch

AT&T Inc., the second largest wireless carrier after Verizon Wireless, has also been talking to e-reader manufacturers, said Ralph de la Vega, the company’s head of consumer services. Since AT&T’s network is more similar to ones used overseas, it could support international e-book readers, he noted. The Kindle can download books only in the U.S.

Just like Verizon Wireless, AT&T is looking for ways to expand the uses of its wireless network beyond cell phones to generate additional revenue. [via The Associated Press]

Here is a Readius concept designed by Polymer Vision with Telecom Italia logo on it. Now we can imagine how will look the future Verizon and AT&T reader device.

Readius specifications: