Alexander Turcic
04-05-2007, 07:37 PM
We got our crystal ball out of its magic cupboard to tell you that color e-paper may just be around the corner. Well, actually, we read the following in a Reuters news item (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2111870,00.asp):
Wilcox [E Ink president] said E Ink, whose revenues have grown at a rate of 200 to 300 percent annually in the last three years, is testing a color prototype that could be launched next year, potentially opening the technology to e-magazines and e-newspapers.
Before we get all too excited, let's remind ourselves that this is not the first color e-paper was announced with great fanfare. In 2005, E Ink demonstrated (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5183) the prototype of an e-paper display with 12-bit color in a 400x300 pixel format, and at that time, they believed to start mass production in late 2006. We anticipated breathlessly, blogged about furiously, and drooled over mightily. Then... nothing. It's all we can do, sit and wait and hope that at least next year is going to be a sweet surprise.
Btw, the article is also quoting Sony Reader product manager David Seperson:
"More and more things are going online from Amazon and others," said David Seperson, a product manager of Sony's Reader. "We're seeing real growth in digital text. Also there is a potential shift in what people would consider reading. It used to be mainly books. Now there are blogs. And there's all kinds of Internet things which will work well because you can take that stuff off the computer screen, and take it with you to the beach and start reading."
Related: Color iRex iLiad in 2007 (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8108), Where is the color E Ink that was promised to us? (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8764)
Wilcox [E Ink president] said E Ink, whose revenues have grown at a rate of 200 to 300 percent annually in the last three years, is testing a color prototype that could be launched next year, potentially opening the technology to e-magazines and e-newspapers.
Before we get all too excited, let's remind ourselves that this is not the first color e-paper was announced with great fanfare. In 2005, E Ink demonstrated (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5183) the prototype of an e-paper display with 12-bit color in a 400x300 pixel format, and at that time, they believed to start mass production in late 2006. We anticipated breathlessly, blogged about furiously, and drooled over mightily. Then... nothing. It's all we can do, sit and wait and hope that at least next year is going to be a sweet surprise.
Btw, the article is also quoting Sony Reader product manager David Seperson:
"More and more things are going online from Amazon and others," said David Seperson, a product manager of Sony's Reader. "We're seeing real growth in digital text. Also there is a potential shift in what people would consider reading. It used to be mainly books. Now there are blogs. And there's all kinds of Internet things which will work well because you can take that stuff off the computer screen, and take it with you to the beach and start reading."
Related: Color iRex iLiad in 2007 (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8108), Where is the color E Ink that was promised to us? (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8764)