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E-Ink’s 400×300-pixel color display: ‘Suitable for mass production’ next year
October 18, 2005 | 6:08 am
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By David Rothman
“E Ink Corporation…and Toppan Printing Co. Ltd., the world’s leading supplier of Color Filters for the flat panel display industry, today announced that their engineers have built a full-color electronic paper display that is suitable for mass production.” – News release via the Librie list. Related: More on Siemens’ e-ink via LISNews.
Further details from E Ink and Toppan:
This electronic paper color prototype achieves 12-bit color in a 400×300 pixel format with resolution of 83 pixels per inch, using a custom color filter from strategic partner Toppan. The color filter design has a high-brightness layout (RGBW) that preserves the paper-like whiteness of the background page while enabling deep blacks for text and a range of colors and tones for images. A smart algorithm uses color sub-pixels to smooth black and white text, for enhanced legibility equivalent to a printer. The display diagonal is 6 inches, similar to a paperback book in size.
“No one has ever shown a low-power color display that looks this good and can be mass manufactured in a practical way,” said Russ Wilcox, CEO at E Ink, “The gates are finally open for product designers to use color electronic paper in mobile devices.”
E Ink’s electronic ink technology creates an image that looks like a printed page from all angles and maintains the same contrast ratio under all lighting conditions, including direct sunlight. Aimed at handheld devices, the display uses up to 100 times less energy than a standard liquid crystal display (LCD), so product designers can shed weight and greatly extend battery life.
“Supporting a graphical user interface is critical for mobile devices,” said Ryosuke Kuwada, VP of Sales and Marketing at E Ink, “Unlike printed paper, our display can be updated in a fraction of a second, enabling menus, scroll bars and animation. The screen can easily switch between black and white text or color windows and icons.”
One application for the color electronic paper display module is for seeing digital information outdoors. Digital cameras, ATMs, kiosks, GPS devices and electronic signs can be seen clearly even under sunlight using the new display module. The display will also be useful for any portable electronic device that has a battery. The new display module will let cellphones, PDAs, and wireless tablets run substantially longer on a single charge, enabling designers to make the devices more compact by cutting battery size and weight.
Mass production of color electronic paper displays is expected to start at the end of 2006, with future plans for flexible versions.
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[...] E Ink goes color with new advanced electronic paper E Ink have unveiled a prototype color electronic paper display at the FPD International trade show in Japan. Made in conjunction with the Toppan Printing Company Ltd., the world’s leading supplier of color filters for the flat panel display industry, the prototype 6 inch 400×300 12-bit color display with a resolution of 83 pixels per inch, offers excellent readability in direct sunlight making it suitable for use in a variety of devices including digital cameras, ATMs, kiosks, and GPS units. From the press release: "No one has ever shown a low-power color display that looks this good and can be mass manufactured in a practical way," said Russ Wilcox, CEO at E Ink, "The gates are finally open for product designers to use color electronic paper in mobile devices." E Ink’s electronic ink technology creates an image that looks like a printed page from all angles and maintains the same contrast ratio under all lighting conditions, including direct sunlight. Aimed at handheld devices, the display uses up to 100 times less energy than a standard liquid crystal display (LCD), so product designers can shed weight and greatly extend battery life. "Supporting a graphical user interface is critical for mobile devices," said Ryosuke Kuwada, VP of Sales and Marketing at E Ink, "Unlike printed paper, our display can be updated in a fraction of a second, enabling menus, scroll bars and animation. The screen can easily switch between black and white text or color windows and icons." Mass production of the new color display is expected to start in late 2006 with flexible versions planned for the future. Related: More e-paper promises…, E-books could be more than just type [Press Release via Yahoo! Librie Group and TeleRead] __________________ Reading: Revolution in the Valley Listening: The World is Flat [...]
e-ink has promised “in a year” for some 5 years now.
hope springs eternal, i guess… so does gullibility…
-bowerbird
The problem isn’t that the technology is not there. The problem is turning into a consumer product that people actually want to buy.
The Libre was a great concept mared by Sony’s typically inept marketing and ham-fisted attempts to own a closed platform.
actually, the problem _is_ that the technology isn’t there yet.
if it was, somebody would have turned it into a good product.
(but yes, you’re also totally correct that sony blew it with d.r.m.
but if you think others won’t repeat that mistake, you’re wrong.)
furthermore, even when the techology _does_ finally arrive,
which i peg for about mid-2008, there will be _lots_and_lots_
of products that will be clamoring for it — as noted in the p.r.:
> including digital cameras, ATMs, kiosks, and GPS units.
add portable web-browsers to the list, and even if e-ink _is_
affordable — and remember, no one has promised it will be –
dedicated e-book machines are gonna be at the very back of
a very, very long line.
and since the portable web-browsers will be far ahead of them,
placing the big orders that can create a critical mass of users,
the stark reality is that dedicated e-book e-ink machines will be
outdated before they even get to market. so they never will…
-bowerbird