yeah, i doubt it has a monochrome mode.
imagine an lcd screen with a very unpredictable color saturation, brightness, and uniformity when not using the backlight.
if this works reliably and costs cheap, then i'm all for this technology since it allows very lower power consumption during browsing and reading. it's the lcd that needs huge improvement in power efficiency.
my prediction, the picture quality on its backlight "ON" mode might not be as good as normal lcd panels, yet, i have not used a laptop to view a full length film or edit high quality photos.
[citation][nom]haze4peace[/nom]The article doesn't say the screen is monochrome in epaper mode. Looks like its in color to me, albeit muted colors due to lack of backlight.[/citation]