Image Courtesy of Pressmart.net
Amazon.com has been promoting their Kindle device for 3 weeks now. It boasts of the ability to read e-books anytime, anywhere. Amazon Kindle is one of the new breeds of gadgets that are currently just being introduced. It’s called e-Paper devices.
e-Paper technology allows for a great display of text. Instead of being backlit, these devices uses reflected light to power its displays. So what you get is a very energy efficient device. More than the savings in energy, reading e-books on an e-Paper device makes more sense because you can read it even under direct sunlight. Yup, no more glare and hard to see screens with e-Paper.
There are other functions for the e-Paper too. For one, e-Paper would be perfect for digital photo frames. Currently available photo frames are constantly backlit; hence, it is very wasteful in terms of electricity. e-Paper only uses power to connect to a USB memory stick or other storage devices, changes the picture being displayed and shuts down again.
The technology would also prove useful in magazines, much like what Esquire magazine did for its October 2008 issue that featured a cover that changed constantly. Unlike earlier instances of e-Paper use, the Esquire cover was highly readable, funky and proved to be so successful, that the magazine is looking into using e-Paper to expand its advertising revenues without the additional bulk.
Of the many companies that are currently looking to capitalize on the unique energy-saving aspects of e-Paper, including Microsoft and Plastic Logic, Samsung is leading the way with its OLED screens that can be folded in half, high color e-Paper displays, and a concept phone that uses the technology. These characteristics make it look more like a full-fledged PDA rather than an e-book reader.
Bibliophiles and technophiles are sure to catch onto this latest technology. Unlike power guzzling LED screens, these babies can last for a month or some say even years on normal batteries. They cost less too, can reduce eyestrain. They even have a wider reading and viewing angle than LED screens.
It is, however, a relatively new technology, and thus there are some areas that need improvements. For instance, color displays that have vibrant and bright colors are few and far between. The response rate of an e-Paper device is also very slow, making it less conducive for interactive application, zooming in and out of pictures or text, or basic scrolling.
Give it time, however, and we’d have another great device to add to our wish lists!
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man, you are right on! you should see the “next-gen” e-paper devices… there are some companies coming out with e-paper that can really be folded!!! great article!
I think I saw another kind of paper, really its paper I don’t how they get animation into it but they said it has something to do with the printer and the specialized paper. I do not know if you’ve seen it, maybe in the next advertising convention I should get a photo of it. They usually have those in supermarkets its usually used as price tags or small posters that uses mostly white background. I’ll try to look around maybe I can find the manufacturer.
Thanks Ji! Minority Report’s epaper was also cool. Newspapers are updated in real-time with LED-like interface. It’s like a super super thin laptop that can be folded.
yeah seen a similar thing in discovery channel before but this one is better