Ever since Amazon brought E Ink displays to the world’s attention with the first Kindle reader, e-reader users have been clamoring for color displays on their devices. Now it seems that they might soon get their wish. E Ink has been showcasing their new Triton color display at CES this week.

E Ink displays can be found in pretty much every e-reader you’ve ever heard of, most notably in Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s NOOK (though not, of course, the Kindle Fire or the NOOK Tablet). The display works by moving charged, pigmented pellets around inside the display. The pellets are suspended between two electrodes (one transparent) and are arranged into words and images by charging the electrodes in a particular pattern. The new Triton display works in exactly the same way, except it is overlayed with a filter that colorizes the images. Here’s a video from E Ink showing how the technology works:

Just as with previous E Ink displays, the Triton screen is easy to read in bright sunlight, and draws a minimal amount of power, allowing for the same remarkable battery life enjoyed by the NOOK, Kindle, and other E Ink readers. The technology behind Triton is slightly more complicated, however, which will likely lead to an increase in device price.

Requests for comment sent to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and E Ink about when we might expect to see the Triton display in the Kindle and the NOOK have not yet been answered. Considering that a color display has been pretty much at the top of every e-reader user’s wish list for several years now, it’s likely to be sooner than later.

Digital Trends caught up with E Ink at CES, and got a look the display in action. The video is embedded below. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.