>in direct sunlight on a hot California day you can see a world of difference between the contrast and glare of a high school graphing calculator and a Kindle.

Sharp Memory LCDs are reflective, not transreflective. They're easier to read outdoors than indoors, much like eink. (Sharp markets these screens for devices like bike computers and gas pumps.) Some of the optical properties are in the same ballpark as eink as well.