Epson unveiled a 13.4-inch (A4-size) electronic paper at SID 2008, in Los Angeles, the US. Its pixel count is 3104 × 4128 and definition is as high as 385ppi.

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Link (http://www.fareastgizmos.com/other_stuff/electronic_papers_to_replace_traditional_papers_ve ry_soon.php)

Now this would handle A4 PDF's very nicely :)

Looks more like a monitor than something that could be used on a portable device.

BOb

Bob - I think the epaper is just mounted like that for display purposes. The actual epaper itself is just the grey bit.........

Bob - I think the epaper is just mounted like that for display purposes. The actual epaper itself is just the grey bit.........

Yea, I figured that. But, what about the big butt controller and power supply in the background. Any idea if this is flexible display?

This is almost to the range of the Harry Potter newspaper... all they need to do is add some animated photos.

BOb

Demo/prototypes always seem to have big-a$$ power supplies and huge data cables :)

I guess it will be a while before we see production samples.....

Maybe some Epson stock is in my future.

BOb

definition is as high as 385ppi. That is a phenomenal pixel density. The highest (nearly) available today for E-Ink is the 5" Vizplex at 200 ppi.

Almost twice the current available ppi, but what are the ppi for printed matter than? anyone got a comparison chart?

the problem with color is that effectively, the ppi would be divided by three.
With this new thingie, even divided by three, the ppi is still very good.

Offset printing runs ~100-300lpi depending largely on the paper used. Newsprint can go as low as 50lpi but it starts to look really bad (for stuff like posters rather than things you're supposed to look at). Serious glossy magazines (art mostly) can go over 600 lpi but that's rare (and expensive).

If you're looking at printers, 300dpi is reasonable, 600dpi is about as high as makes any difference unless you're using really high grade paper and are fanatical about halftoning gradations. But on common "printer paper" it takes a bit of experience to see much value past 300dpi - most people can tell the difference if you give them two pages side by side, but give them one page and they have no chance at guessing the print resolution.

Also, for black text on white paper, 300 dpi is ample. It's really only for pictures that higher resolutions make any difference, and that's where dot size/intensity control starts to be really, really important. A dot printer (dye sub, bubblejet) that has (say) 16 dot sizes at 300dpi can walk all over a "1200dpi" printer with a single dot size (common in cheap models), especially if its ink control is not very good (so the dot size varies but not under control of the printer).

Personally, 300 ppi at 16 gray levels would be fine for me. I'd rather see more contrast (and contrast control) than more pixels once we get to 300dpi. One thing is that there's almost certainly s a tradeoff there - more pixels means more dead space compared to pixels, so the effective contrast will drop. LCD displays and digital camera sensors have this problem, for instance.

Looks great but i wonder how much they will sell these for when they come out, an arm and a leg or just your firstborn child?

Looks great but i wonder how much they will sell these for when they come out, an arm and a leg or just your firstborn child?

Both arms & both legs plus your first born through you third born with the caveat that you will lose more body parts if you don't have the kids.:rolleyes:

Wow. You could cut this in half, and put the halves on facing sides of a clamshell device, slap on some solar cells for trickle recharge, and have a heck of an ebook reader.

Finally, some good news!

Wow. You could cut this in half, and put the halves on facing sides of a clamshell device, slap on some solar cells for trickle recharge, and have a heck of an ebook reader.

Finally, some good news!

If you wanted to do that you could use existing screens. Why pay a premium for a large screen and then cut it in half.

Dale

Maybe some Epson stock is in my future.Participation at MobileRead might qualify that as "Insider Trading." :wink2:

Looks great but i wonder how much they will sell these for when they come out, an arm and a leg or just your firstborn child?People will pay more for professional devices, and I've always believed that an A4/Letter sized display device would be primarily a professional device.

As mentioned above, they would be too big for casual pursuits, but to replace a clipboard or a laptop in a reference/notation function, they'd be the bomb for professions such as lawyer, doctor, teacher/professor, anyone who handles lots of paper that they don't necessarily need to keep long-term ... and of course every manager on up to CEO who has to display gizmological dominance over his/her "herd." :D

If you wanted to do that you could use existing screens. Why pay a premium for a large screen and then cut it in half.

Dale

It's the resolution that has me excited here, mainly. It could conceivably do two pages side by side, if the text size in the original PDF wasn't too small. That's a big step up from current screens, which are borderline with displaying only one page.

And obviously, you wouldn't be cutting a big one in half.

It was impressive to see it in during the SID, but I couldn't get them to tell me their shipping date or price. Did anyone else get a chance to talk to them about their delivery schedule and pricing?

Wow. You could cut this in half, and put the halves on facing sides of a clamshell device, slap on some solar cells for trickle recharge, and have a heck of an ebook reader.

Finally, some good news!

I never understand why an ereader should have facing pages to stick to the "old" book idea.

One of the main benefits of a "one faced" ereader is the ability to hold it comfortable in one hand.

And obviously, you wouldn't be cutting a big one in half.

To cut this epaper in half I guess you would need a good pair of escissors?:D

I already gave somewhere in the thread about astak mentor a link of the epson model B6 format where there are specification details of this ePaper and they sound really impressive....
After Mentor's device, this Epson could be my next reader in the future due those impressive characteristics...

what about the color-version that they were going to present?

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I SO want this! And rollable, if possible :D

Personally, 300 ppi at 16 gray levels would be fine for me. I'd rather see more contrast (and contrast control) than more pixels once we get to 300dpi. One thing is that there's almost certainly s a tradeoff there - more pixels means more dead space compared to pixels, so the effective contrast will drop. LCD displays and digital camera sensors have this problem, for instance.

OFFTOPIC: While I don't know about LCDs, the issue with Digital sensors isn't so much to do with dead space as it is shinking photosites. The smaller these are, generally the weaker their signal and the more amplification is needed. This in turn leads to more noise in the picture, which manufacturers often try to compensate for by lowering the effective dynamic range.

ON TOPIC: According to the link this screen also has a contrast ratio of 10:1. If correct, this would actually be an improvement over the current screens, which are only 7:1.

I never understand why an ereader should have facing pages to stick to the "old" book idea.

One of the main benefits of a "one faced" ereader is the ability to hold it comfortable in one hand.

Well, there are certain circumstances where having two screens side-by-side might be beneficial. Such replicating the effect where a magazine, comic, or textbook has content stretched out across both pages, or perhaps when you need to to have two different books open at the same time.

On the other hand I agree that just having one screen is convenient in its own right.

Well, there are certain circumstances where having two screens side-by-side might be beneficial. Such replicating the effect where a magazine, comic, or textbook has content stretched out across both pages, or perhaps when you need to to have two different books open at the same time.

Sometimes, I would like to see references, tables, and figures that are not on the same page as the description when I read academic papers. Switching back and forth is not very practical given the slow refresh rate of e-ink screen.
Of course, if e-ink (or anything equivalent) achieves fast refresh rate matching that of LCD, we may be able to do with one screen. Until then, I can see some benefits of having dual screen.

People will pay more for professional devices, and I've always believed that an A4/Letter sized display device would be primarily a professional device.

As mentioned above, they would be too big for casual pursuits, but to replace a clipboard or a laptop in a reference/notation function, they'd be the bomb for professions such as lawyer, doctor, teacher/professor, anyone who handles lots of paper that they don't necessarily need to keep long-term ... and of course every manager on up to CEO who has to display gizmological dominance over his/her "herd."

Add performing musician to that list - in spades! Probably with a foot (or bow tip) operated page turn.

James

I read somewhere in the SID2008 news Epson's going to start selling in these days the component which manages those ePapers....

http://www.informationdisplay.org/newproduct_archive.cfm?newproduct=new_products67

so if eInk papers of Epsons are same eInk products then this device they are selling should demonstrate eInk paper has more capabilities than expected as they said on their site... just let's buy one of those devices and a eInk epaper and try at home connecting them and see... :-)

if it's the truth, then I would really appreciate Epson's product as good product and having one on my hands.

Sometimes, I would like to see references, tables, and figures that are not on the same page as the description when I read academic papers. Switching back and forth is not very practical given the slow refresh rate of e-ink screen.
Of course, if e-ink (or anything equivalent) achieves fast refresh rate matching that of LCD, we may be able to do with one screen. Until then, I can see some benefits of having dual screen.

It seems that their new IC S1D13521 can control this screen at a great speed:
Up to 2048x1536 @ 50Hz
Up to 4096x4096 @ less than 50Hz
:thumbsup:

http://vdc.epson.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=289&Itemid=99

Just found this quicky video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=lOuw7woqhLs) of the screen in action. Even at horribly low youtube resolution it's looking all the more impressive.

Just found this quicky video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=lOuw7woqhLs) of the screen in action. Even at horribly low youtube resolution it's looking all the more impressive.

Really impressive!! If I could be at that SID 2008 I would surely asked to Epson's to give me that prototype!... :D