E-paper industry sceptical about short-term prospects

Alexander Turcic · 01-19-2007, 04:39 PM

Sure, a lot of us would love to catch a glimpse of a next-gen e-reader device, but industry insiders caution against expecting anything breathtaking anytime soon. EETimes Europe talked with Jochen Dieckow, new media researcher at publishing industry think tank Ifra, and Simon Jones, VP of product development at Plastic Logic, the producer of flexible e-paper displays who just recently raised $100m to build a manufacturing facility in Germany. They say:

possible successors of the iRex iLiad or Sony Reader are still "very much work in progress"
an intuitive user interface is still lacking (with reference to the iRex iLiad)
consumer confidence still needs to be established
don't be hyperactive about the short-term prospects
there is a big potential market, but there are no compelling devices
e-reader designers need to think "unconventionally"
Plastic Logic works closely with (unnamed) partners to design new products

Related: Plastic Logic raises $100 million, Plastic Logic's flexible e-paper may be available in 2008, Cut the hype and get us working e-reader devices!, De Tijd-iLiad e-paper trial - has it been a failure?

Jorgen · 01-20-2007, 12:51 AM

It is not a matter of consumer confidence. It is a matter of making a reader that can be sold for, say, US$35 for which you can get $5 books by your favourite author.

Anchoku · 01-20-2007, 12:55 AM

Hmm... USD100M isn't much. Any news on when a large-scale web process will be ready? I can't remember if they were working on inkjet printing of organic conductors and semi-conductors. :/ If PL has to deal with the humidity and thermal problems OLEDs do... Bleh! Cell phones are thrown away after 2-3 years. An e-book can't get away with that kind of life. It will be interesting seeing how paper-like displays evolve over the next decade.

TadW · 01-20-2007, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jorgen

It is not a matter of consumer confidence. It is a matter of making a reader that can be sold for, say, US$35 for which you can get $5 books by your favourite author.

Agreed 100%. It's not the consumer who must be convinced, but the publishers. It is they who continue hampering growth of the e-book industry.

yvanleterrible · 01-20-2007, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

Agreed 100%. It's not the consumer who must be convinced, but the publishers. It is they who continue hampering growth of the e-book industry.

Agreed and may I add that an ebook universal standard will be required to prevent proprietary format exclusivity price gouging.

Jorgen · 01-21-2007, 10:27 AM

"Hmm... USD100M isn't much."

True. However, the longterm plan is to put usermanuals and/or setup instructions for consumer items on the box using eInk. When that time come, we might be able to get an eInk reader with memory enough for, say, up to 10 books for a small amount - a reader meant to last months or years depending on how well you treat it.

Anchoku · 01-23-2007, 10:51 AM

To replace the consumer instructions, e-paper must be cost competitive. An e-book is one application supporting the highest cost, thus the number of old, current and, new products out there. The less the e-book costs, the less consumers will fret over its operating life. E-paper applications have to save someone money before the technologies are widely adopted.

Until e-paper is made roll-to-roll, it will only hold a niche market and will be forced to compete directly with inflexible versions of LCDs and OLEDs. In my mind, electro-phoretic displays need to be nearly as cheep as paper if e-Ink can't get full color and fast response time.

If Plastic Logic succeeds in making stable, roll-to-roll TFT or diode substrates, I suspect a number of asian companies would line up for licenses, or contribute to a joint venture.

01-19-2007, 04:39 PM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	E-paper industry sceptical about short-term prospects Sure, a lot of us would love to catch a glimpse of a next-gen e-reader device, but industry insiders caution against expecting anything breathtaking anytime soon. EETimes Europe talked with Jochen Dieckow, new media researcher at publishing industry think tank Ifra, and Simon Jones, VP of product development at Plastic Logic, the producer of flexible e-paper displays who just recently raised $100m to build a manufacturing facility in Germany. They say: possible successors of the iRex iLiad or Sony Reader are still "very much work in progress" an intuitive user interface is still lacking (with reference to the iRex iLiad) consumer confidence still needs to be established don't be hyperactive about the short-term prospects there is a big potential market, but there are no compelling devices e-reader designers need to think "unconventionally" Plastic Logic works closely with (unnamed) partners to design new products Related: Plastic Logic raises $100 million, Plastic Logic's flexible e-paper may be available in 2008, Cut the hype and get us working e-reader devices!, De Tijd-iLiad e-paper trial - has it been a failure?

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01-20-2007, 12:51 AM	#2
Jorgen Connoisseur Posts: 74 Karma: 84 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Spain Device: Sony prs-650, iPod, BEBOOK Mini, Nokia n810, iPaq	It is not a matter of consumer confidence. It is a matter of making a reader that can be sold for, say, US$35 for which you can get $5 books by your favourite author.

01-20-2007, 12:55 AM	#3
Anchoku Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 164 Join Date: Jan 2007	Hmm... USD100M isn't much. Any news on when a large-scale web process will be ready? I can't remember if they were working on inkjet printing of organic conductors and semi-conductors. :/ If PL has to deal with the humidity and thermal problems OLEDs do... Bleh! Cell phones are thrown away after 2-3 years. An e-book can't get away with that kind of life. It will be interesting seeing how paper-like displays evolve over the next decade.

01-21-2007, 10:27 AM	#6
Jorgen Connoisseur Posts: 74 Karma: 84 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Spain Device: Sony prs-650, iPod, BEBOOK Mini, Nokia n810, iPaq	"Hmm... USD100M isn't much." True. However, the longterm plan is to put usermanuals and/or setup instructions for consumer items on the box using eInk. When that time come, we might be able to get an eInk reader with memory enough for, say, up to 10 books for a small amount - a reader meant to last months or years depending on how well you treat it.

01-23-2007, 10:51 AM	#7
Anchoku Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 164 Join Date: Jan 2007	To replace the consumer instructions, e-paper must be cost competitive. An e-book is one application supporting the highest cost, thus the number of old, current and, new products out there. The less the e-book costs, the less consumers will fret over its operating life. E-paper applications have to save someone money before the technologies are widely adopted. Until e-paper is made roll-to-roll, it will only hold a niche market and will be forced to compete directly with inflexible versions of LCDs and OLEDs. In my mind, electro-phoretic displays need to be nearly as cheep as paper if e-Ink can't get full color and fast response time. If Plastic Logic succeeds in making stable, roll-to-roll TFT or diode substrates, I suspect a number of asian companies would line up for licenses, or contribute to a joint venture.

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