HUGE E-Ink Tablets!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

With the glass substrate, the wrong pressure or especially a twisting force will shatter the glass.

And, as you say, the amount of torque increases proportionally to the linear size of the device. The same twisting force will exert twice the torque on a reader with a 12" linear size than a reader with a 6" size. ie, it only needs half as much force to break the substrate.

I don't understand what's happened to plastic substrates. If memory serves me correctly, in the autumn of 2010 eInk announced that they were commencing commercial production of 6" screens with a plastic substrate, and since then there's been ... nothing. I can only speculate that something went disastrously wrong in the step-up from demonstration models to commercial production, and it just didn't work out.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't understand what's happened to plastic substrates. If memory serves me correctly, in the autumn of 2010 eInk announced that they were commencing commercial production of 6" screens with a plastic substrate, and since then there's been ... nothing. I can only speculate that something went disastrously wrong in the step-up from demonstration models to commercial production, and it just didn't work out.

It might have been simply for scratch resistance and uv protection that a glass pane got added. Let's hope that with Triton material, whether it has the color filter on top or just plain b/w, we might get flexible screens. The device they come in does not necessary be flexible. Now if somebody comes out with a new device it more than likely has to have touch screen as well. But then again, there might be a good reason (e.g. stylus too hard for the screen) that the Jetbook Color does not have a touchscreen ...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

It might have been simply for scratch resistance and uv protection that a glass pane got added.

The substrate is underneath the outer plastic screen. You may well have a valid point about UV protection, but scratch resistance doesn't come into the picture, because the substrate isn't exposed to the outside world.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't understand what's happened to plastic substrates. If memory serves me correctly, in the autumn of 2010 eInk announced that they were commencing commercial production of 6" screens with a plastic substrate, and since then there's been ... nothing. I can only speculate that something went disastrously wrong in the step-up from demonstration models to commercial production, and it just didn't work out.

In the video that Charbax made that is on another thread you can see at 9:38 the actual display that they are making, and that is not on glass. I think that the glass is adder later.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

In the video that Charbax made that is on another thread you can see at 9:38 the actual display that they are making, and that is not on glass. I think that the glass is adder later.

Sure, BUT on a video that is over a year old they did say the same (I assume charbax that uploaded it is the same as "our" charbax here on MR). I think that is what HarryT means by not following through with prototypes. Unless it is meant to create hype only. See this video on youtube

Edit: As I come to understand the Pearl screens have the glass as back-substrate that is the material the ink particles get "printed" on. So they would be an essential part of the display itself.

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't understand what's happened to plastic substrates. If memory serves me correctly, in the autumn of 2010 eInk announced that they were commencing commercial production of 6" screens with a plastic substrate, and since then there's been ... nothing. I can only speculate that something went disastrously wrong in the step-up from demonstration models to commercial production, and it just didn't work out.

my understanding is the problem is yield.

they(the Prime View half ) are unable to go roll to roll with plastic the entire way as Plastic Logic are doing or on a smaller scale(not YET commercial) Polymer Vision. in order to create the plastic substrate display they have to build the display on glass , shear it off the glass and lay it on the plastic. the reason is something to do with temperature extremes and the plastic.

smaller yield equals greater expense and you may have noticed the last year has been a bit of a retail price war.



LG is production ready with its foil backed(instead of plastic) Eink displays and its color process is actually better than Triton.

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

In the video that Charbax made that is on another thread you can see at 9:38 the actual display that they are making, and that is not on glass. I think that the glass is adder later.

that is the eink film not a full working display. in order to make an ereader display from that film several other layers are added including a tft backplane, be it glass or plastic.

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Sure, BUT on a video that is over a year old they did say the same (I assume charbax that uploaded it is the same as "our" charbax here on MR). I think that is what HarryT means by not following through with prototypes. Unless it is meant to create hype only. See this video on youtube.

that is a full display with a plastic tft backplane

the other layers you folk are talking about- scratch coat/uv etc are coatings and a plastic layer. those layers are not the concern when talking about going from rigid to flexible. its all about the tft backplane that actually drives the display

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

But then again, there might be a good reason (e.g. stylus too hard for the screen) that the Jetbook Color does not have a touchscreen ...

yes it does. its pen and touch. that's hanvon's in house emr pen plus capacitive.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

those layers are not the concern when talking about going from rigid to flexible.

The thing is, we (at least me) do not care a bit if the display (including the TFT substrate) is flexible. I want an unbreakable display, so that if you drop your ereader the display is going to be the last thing that will die. If it means to use a plastic of some sort to house all the transistors necessary to change the screen, and if that makes the display flexible, more power to it. Then if such a flexible display is added into a rigid housing, it would be less breakable than the housing itself.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

LG is production ready with its foil backed(instead of plastic) Eink displays and its color process in actually better than Triton.

Now that sounds interesting. Searching on the web, I don't find any articles newer than January 2010. Do you have a link to more recent news?

[Dulin's Books]

well they had the foil displays in two sizes and color at CES last January and showed them throughout the year at other forums like Frankfurt, SID Display week etc. they also mentioned them being "in production" or about to be in quarterly reports.

I had assumed, apparently wrongly, that we might see a device come from L&I Electronic Technology, their ereader joint venture with iRiver. it may be of course that the same price war I mentioned earlier is at fault

edit- i should mention also that Sony may actually be up to something. they showed some nicely flexible epaper at SID last year

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/15/s...les-our-fancy/

and showed flexible color too

http://www.slashgear.com/sony-shows-...2011-19153068/

and there was some news about it from Nate in his meeting with Eink at CES recently

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...-100-and-more/

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

that is the eink film not a full working display. in order to make an ereader display from that film several other layers are added including a tft backplane, be it glass or plastic.

But that is up to the manufacturer of the reader, right?

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

But that is up to the manufacturer of the reader, right?

No that is up to the manufacturer of the display. It should arrive as a complete display at the reader assembly plant fully functioning, ready to plug into the circuit board so it can connect to the controler.

[HarryT]

Thanks - lots of interesting stuff in that last page of posts.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

No that is up to the manufacturer of the display. It should arrive as a complete display at the reader assembly plant fully functioning, ready to plug into the circuit board so it can connect to the controler.

I don't think that the backplane is necessary for the functionality of the display. Take this for example.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

I don't think that the backplane is necessary for the functionality of the display. Take this for example.

That has a backplane. It's just uses a backplane that's made from a flexible plastic, not glass.

Some kind of backplane is essential for eInk. Something has to generate the electric field that moves the particles in the little eInk capsules.