Pixel Qi's screens to grace the Apple tablet?

MacRumors today reports that Pixel Qi’s screens would make a great match for the rumored Apple tablet.  Indeed, 10.1 inches and the ability to display eInk-like text in full sunlight as well as full color video — and at the same time using a fraction of the energy could make Apple’s tablet a real “game changer”.  This isn’t the first time the two companies have been seen together, however.  Many reports from 2008 and this year have wondered the same question: Are apple and Pixel Qi working together on the Tablet?

Beyond the questions and the obvious excitement at the technology – which would seem to be a perfect fit, we’ve found some very interesting additional connections between Apple and Pixel Qi that aren’t as anecdotal.  

Pixel Qi’s VP of Engineering is a November 2008  transfer from Apple.  What did he work on? He “engineered new generation display electronics for the iPhone and other devices”. His official title was Principal Driver Architect – Displays at Apple Inc.   This is a huge connection.  It is hard to imagine a person as tapped into Apple’s tablet plans as this guy.  He’s even on Apple’s multi-touch display patents.

Dr. Carlin Vieri – VP of Engineering
Carlin Vieri joined Pixel Qi from Apple Computer where he engineered new generation display electronics for the iPhone and other devices. Previously he pioneered liquid crystal on silicon electronics backplanes, drive schemes and interfaces with the MicroDisplay Corporation…

Pixel Qi is currently building a display for a multi-touch tablet.  Which tablet?  We’re not sure, but here’s what they say:

Our first production batch of screens will be ready shortly. We will be ramping production scale over Q1 2010. We can now announce that the first units are going into specialized tablet devices with multi-touch. Increasingly these screens will be super-slim, but some customers prefer the standard thickness.

Also, the Pixel Qi displays were originally due in Q3 of 2009.  The delay in the delivery of these displays would explain the delay of the tablet which was originally forecasted to be delivered in late 2009.  

We will be sampling our 10? screens this spring and plan to be in high volume mass production this summer. These screens have an epaper state that rivals the best epaper on the market today. What