E Ink, Sony Team on Flexible Reader

It appears reports of the demise of e-ink have been greatly exaggerated.

E Ink Holdings has introduced a new flexible electronic paper display (EPD) technology that will be used by Sony in its new large-format e-reader. The company claims the new display is more durable and can weigh up to 50% less than other display screens.

The new Sony product is a 13.3-in. e-reader designed for students. At just 12.6 oz., the new device is much lighter than a 10.7-in e-reader using an LCD screen. The screen also is flexible, or at least the image provided to TeleRead appears that way.

“Flexible can mean different things to different people,” Giovanni Mancini, director of product marketing at E Ink, told TeleRead. “In our experience in working with E Ink’s direct customers and in talking to end consumers, the feedback we received was that they wanted a product which was lightweight, rugged, and conformable to a not-flat surface.”

Study Puts E-Ink to the Test

One of the selling points of a dedicated electronic reader is the belief that E Ink is better for a reader’s eyes than the LCD screens used in tablet computers. Now, researchers from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, have released a study suggesting it might actually be easier to read on the LCD screen, and that retention of reading material is the same no matter how the reading is done.

A group of 57 Generation-Xers and senior citizens were tested using an electroencephalogram (EEG) machine to measure brain activity while the reading. The tests showed that while Gen-X readers used slightly less energy to read on a tablet than an e-reader or paper book, the senior citizens clearly spent less energy and time reading on the tablet.

Both test groups also showed a slightly higher error rate in answering questions after using either an e-reader or tablet device, although the researchers considered the rate small enough to be insignificant.

“Here we have a study that suggests digital textbooks are not better for students,” wrote Note Hoffelder in his blog post on The Digital Reader. “It’s a pity that this probably won’t slow down the mad dash towards the next hot trend.”

E Ink announces next generation display technology

Last week, E Ink Corporation announced that it will soon release its next generation display technology called Pearl.

According to the press release, “With Pearl, E Ink expands the capabilities of reflective displays, bringing electronic paper performance to the next level. With the whitest reflective displays in the industry, and a contrast ratio now approximately 50 percent greater than today’s products, text on Pearl “pops” from the page, enabling a reading experience most similar to reading text on printed paper.”

It is likely that Amazon’s second generation Kindle DX includes the new display. In a recent news release it says that the new Kindle will feature “50 percent better display contrast.” The new Kindle DX will begin shipping today.

E Ink’s next generation e-paper

A posting on the Electronista blog features two video demos of E Ink’s next generation e-paper. The prototype in the first video has nearly double the contrast ratio of current e-paper and is able to display animations. The new e-paper will be in production in the coming months and could be incorporated into some devices later this year.

The second video features a display that can be bent slightly and is more durable than current e-paper. In the video, Sriram Peruvemba, Vice President of Marketing at E Ink, says that the display will be used for dedicated textbook devices which have not been announced yet. This display will likely be available towards the end of this year or early next year.

E Ink partners with Marvell

Earlier this month, E Ink announced that it will partner with Marvell, a manufacturer of microprocessors, to produce a series of integrated processors for e-readers and other electronic devices. An article from Publishers Weekly says that the new technology will integrate the two microprocessors contained in many of the e-readers that are available today which could help reduce the price and improve the performance of e-readers. In addition, it could reduce power consumption to extend battery life and allow for easier integration of wireless connectivity. The new technology will be included in the Plastic Logic Que and the enTourage eDGe e-readers that are due out early next year.

Magazine to feature augmented reality technology

In an effort to attract some attention to Esquire’s print magazine, the December issue will feature augmented reality technology. According to The Wall Street Journal, the cover and several pages within the magazine will include black and white augmented reality markers that can be held up to a webcam to trigger video content onscreen. To see an example of how augmented reality works, you can check out GE’s website.

This is Esquire’s second attempt at mixing digital technology with print. You may remember that the October 2008 issue of Esquire featured a cover with an E Ink display. It is not clear what affect the E Ink cover had on sales but it certainly got Esquire some media attention.

In regards to the latest cover, David Granger, Esquire’s editor-in chief, commented, "We've been trying to do things that cause people to re-evaluate what a magazine is and get people excited about this thing called print."

Forrester expects e-reader sales to exceed prior prediction

Sarah Rotman Epps of Forrester Research has released a new report entitled, “Forrester’s eReader Holiday Outlook 2009” which says that e-readers sales in 2009 will likely exceed its prior prediction of two million devices. Forrester is now predicting that three million e-readers will be sold this year with 900,000 of the devices selling during November and December for the holiday season. A posting from the Forrester Research blog says that e-reader sales are growing quicker than expected due to better retail distribution, media buzz, additional content, and reduced pricing of e-readers.

As for 2010, Forrester predicts that Barnes & Noble will become a serious competitor to Amazon and consumers will have a larger variety of e-reader devices to choose from including those which do not use E Ink but include color and video. In addition, tablet devices and dual-screen devices that have both E Ink and LCD screens will be introduced. Forrester expects that e-reader sales will double in 2010 to bring the total number of devices sold to 10 million.

E-Paper round-up

The Kindle review blog recently featured a great posting which includes details and video demos of all the latest e-paper technologies. For additional information about these technologies, the folks at the Epaper Central website have put together an informative “E-paper Technologies Reference Guide.”

Interview with E Ink’s VP of Marketing

A posting on E-Ink-Info’s website, features an interview with E Ink’s VP of Marketing, Siram Peruvembra. The interview discusses E Ink’s current offerings, the recent acquisition by PVI, and the future of E Ink. Of particular interest is Mr. Peruvembra’s response to the question: What should we expect from readers in 2-3 years? What will the displays look like? Mr. Peruvembra commented, “In 2-3 years, there will be more content available in eReaders, they will be available in more countries around the world, in more designs and price ranges, they will be more robust and give you better user experience overall. E Ink and its partners and customers will drive this trend. Our displays will be more rugged to suit devices made for school children, our displays will be available in various sizes to suit different applications that can generate additional revenues from advertisements, our displays will depict monochrome and color images and our displays will bend so that the customer’s device won’t break.”

E-paper/LCD screen for netbooks

An article from PCWorld features a new hybrid e-paper/LCD screen for netbooks that could make the devices viable competitors in the e-reader space. The 10.1 inch screen was developed by start-up company, Pixel Qi, and is designed to work in black and white e-paper mode, and two LCD color modes for indoor and outdoor use. The e-paper mode is designed for reading e-books and documents while the color modes can be used for the internet, videos, etc. The e-paper mode also helps extend battery life because the backlighting is turned off. The screens could be available in netbooks by the end of this year, giving the devices more capabilities than current e-readers but a similar price tag. A video demonstration of the Pixel Qi screen can be found on the E-Ink-Info website.

Prime View International acquires E Ink

On Monday, Prime View International (PVI), the world’s highest volume supplier of ePaper display modules announced that it will acquire E Ink, the leader in e-paper display materials. According to the press release, the companies were already partners in supporting e-book manufactures worldwide but by forming a single company that is dedicated to e-paper, they will be able to improve e-paper displays, expand capacity, and speed up new product development. The press release also provided a few very interesting statistics about the potential growth for e-reader devices.

Vinita Jakhanwal, an analyst from iSuppli commented, “The market for electronic book devices such as the SONY Reader and Amazon Kindle is forecasted to grow from 1.1 million units in 2008 to 20 million units in 2012, a cumulative annual growth rate of 105% over the four-year period.”

Dr. Jennifer Colegrove, Director of Display Technologies for DisplaySearch noted, “The ePaper display module market will grow to over $3 billion by 2013. This market will see further growth with the emergence of color displays and flexible displays, serving eBook/eTextbook, eNewspaper/eMagazine and eDocument markets.”

These statistics support other recent predictions that e-readers will have a considerable impact on our market in the near future.

Phillips develops new e-paper technology that is closer to printed paper

An article from Technology Review says that Phillips Research has developed a new method for creating color e-paper displays that will be three times brighter than the current color displays. The method is known as in-plane electrophoretics, and it uses colored particles rather than color filters which are used in E Ink. The display is brighter with colored particles because color filters require four subpixels for each full-color pixel which reduces the resolution and the brightness of the display. The technology is still very new and Sri Peruvemba, vice president of marketing at E-Ink, predicts that it will take at least three years for it to hit the market. When the technology is available, it will offer some distinct advantages over color filters because it relies on cheaper and simpler electronics and it is more suitable for creating flexible displays.

E-readers in the news

There were some new developments in the e-reader space this week. Here are few of the stories:

New e-paper competitor – Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have created a new display that looks more like actual paper. The display is much brighter than the current E INK technology because it reflects 55% of ambient light as compared to 35-40%. The researchers say that the technology could eventually reflect more than 60%, making the display almost as bright as white paper. The researchers have developed partnerships with other companies and will soon begin commercializing the technology.

Braille e-book reader – Although it is likely still a concept at this point, four designers have created a Braille e-book reader that would use electromagnetic signals to change the surface pattern of the device to simulate Braille text. The technology to create the device is already available so we could see this device in the near future.

BeBook e-reader – A smaller, cheaper version of the original BeBook e-reader will soon launch in Europe. The reader has an E Ink display and runs on the Linux operating system but it does not offer wireless capability. There is no word yet if the reader will launch in the U.S.

Sony to do away with proprietary format in UK - At the London Book Fair, Richard Palk, Sony’s new business content and services manager announced that they will move away from their propriety format in favor of ePub in the UK. Palk commented, “ePub has become the de facto UK consumers' format of choice." He also added that Reader and ebook sales have exceeded expectations, "We see demand for ebooks and digital readers growing in the UK. It's clear that a reading revolution is beginning." There is no word yet, if a similar decision will occur for the US market.

E Ink technology update

An interesting posting on Joe Wikert’s Kindleville blog discusses his recent visit to the E Ink office. Wikert reports that the company is making progress on color displays and that he actually saw a prototype with slightly washed out color but excellent clarity. He also saw displays that support animation and several displays with sharper renderings of text and graphics. While these displays will not be available for some time, the technology is progressing.

Color and Flexible e-book displays

The Economist recently had an interesting story that is a must-read for those interested in e-reader technology. They report that HP Labs, Arizona State, and E Ink have been successful at producing flexible electronic paper in long rolls -- bendy electronic paper, that can display words and images, and perhaps eventually replace paper books, newspapers and magazines. The new screens are both low-weight and have low power consumption. Early uses are expected to be in the military, who funded the project -- for purposes such as maps and receiving information. Consumer applications are likely a few years away.

The article goes on to talk about the two key barriers to the technology being successful -- a lack of color, and a refresh rate that enables moving images. But the new technology is substantively lighter, more reliable in production and use, and consumes less power -- all factors that will lead to the new technology surplanting the old. The breakthrough reported in the Economist article, though, is the ability to mass-produce flexible displays -- greatly reducing the cost. The article concludes with comments on different technologies that are emerging that may make color displays possible in the future.

E Ink’s New Display

On Thursday, Teleread posted an article with an impressive YouTube video demonstrating E Ink’s latest enhancements in the AM 300 developer’s kit. The new technology features fast animation that could be used to animate advertisements in e-newspapers or graphics in textbooks. In the future, if this technology becomes available in e-textbooks, students are sure to benefit from animated demonstrations that further explain the text.