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LG announces solar-powered e-book reader
October 12, 2009 | 12:49 pm
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By Chris Meadows
We have mentioned solar-powered e-book prototypes in the past, but now one is finally reaching the production stage. LG has announced a solar-powered e-book reader with a 6” OLED display. 4 to 5 hours of solar charging is said to provide ample reading power for the entire day.
It is interesting they have chosen OLED, given that some experts have said OLED is not optimal for e-books given that white pixels require power while black do not, so presenting black text on white paper would use considerably more power than doing the same with e-ink.
None of the articles seems to have any detail as to what e-book formats or storage media this reader would use, or what its price will be. It would seem that keeping it attached to the case is a requirement, but perhaps it can be removed when not needed for charging. Hopefully that lengthy exposure to the sun will not harm the book reader’s screen.
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Comments:
Aside from the fact that the reader in the pic looks a whole lot like a Sony 505, the quoted numbers in the article look to be a tad… ambitious… 0.7 mm thickness and 20 grams for the entire 6in reader?
Uh, okay…
Ah, the Press release makes a bit more sense:
http://www.lgdisplay.com/homeContain/jsp/eng/inv/inv101_j_e.jsp?BOARD_IDX=1773&languageSec=E&kinds=IN1
The solar cell alone is sub-milimeter thin and light, not the reader.
It’s absolutely a Sony 505 in that Photoshop mock-up. 4 hours of sunlight to provide a days worth of power for an e-ink screen seems totally lame. Why LG’s press release gives the impression they made an e-reader I have no idea, when it seems all they made is a solar-cell charging kit for e-readers. I love it where they say “don’t you hate it when your e-reader runs out of juice in the middle of a page” (or words to that effect). Considering the charge lasts for around 7000 page turns, you’d have to be quite remiss in your charging to ever run out of power. Hey kids, instead of remembering to plug your eReader in once a month, buy this and remember to carry it with you all the time!
That said, a small solar cell in the extra metal space at the bottom of the reader to add a constant trickle charge while reading, would probably be all you need for e-ink to never need plugging in. OLED is another matter.