E-ink

eduj · 03-25-2006, 07:33 PM

My first post in this forum. I went to some links about E-Ink that is going to be part of second generation ebook readers. My question is whether the E-ink software is just for ebook readers or can it be used on desktop pc's and notepads? TIA

Bob Russell · 03-25-2006, 08:41 PM

Hi eduj! Glad to have you with us here and joining in the discussion.

You can see a little bit about e-ink here... http://www.eink.com/, but the idea is basically that it is a display technology that is really about the physical hardware. Your EBM-911 book reader, for example, looks like it has a backlit lcd display which is probably similar to the display on a lot of pdas. But the e-ink displays are a whole different kind of display, and they are generally much easier to look at and much more like reading from paper. They also only require power to change the display, so in terms of display power required, an e-ink reader should be able to display the same image continuously for months at a time (well, assuming the rest of the device is not taking any power).

So, to answer the question one way, you can see e-ink is not really something you can just put on an existing device with a different kind of display.

To answer the question another way, manufacturers might be able to make use of e-ink displays in the future for notebook PCs and desktops and other places like even maybe tvs, but the technology still has some limitations right now because it's new. For example, the speed at which it can change what is displayed is not very fast, so it's not good for watching tv or even on a laptop computer. Another issue right now is color... most of the e-ink displays we hear about are still black and white, which is not a problem for e-book readers, but limits other applications. Hopefully, we'll see this technology improve and see it in all kinds of places in the future. One of the more promising uses will be store signs that can be centrally controlled to show current prices for items and other advertising info. You can find some future uses by following the NE Asia link from here... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ghlight=future
(then you can click on the pictures to see them in full size also).

03-25-2006, 07:33 PM	#1
eduj Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2006 Device: EBM-911	E-ink My first post in this forum. I went to some links about E-Ink that is going to be part of second generation ebook readers. My question is whether the E-ink software is just for ebook readers or can it be used on desktop pc's and notepads? TIA

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03-25-2006, 08:41 PM	#2
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Hi eduj! Glad to have you with us here and joining in the discussion. You can see a little bit about e-ink here... http://www.eink.com/, but the idea is basically that it is a display technology that is really about the physical hardware. Your EBM-911 book reader, for example, looks like it has a backlit lcd display which is probably similar to the display on a lot of pdas. But the e-ink displays are a whole different kind of display, and they are generally much easier to look at and much more like reading from paper. They also only require power to change the display, so in terms of display power required, an e-ink reader should be able to display the same image continuously for months at a time (well, assuming the rest of the device is not taking any power). So, to answer the question one way, you can see e-ink is not really something you can just put on an existing device with a different kind of display. To answer the question another way, manufacturers might be able to make use of e-ink displays in the future for notebook PCs and desktops and other places like even maybe tvs, but the technology still has some limitations right now because it's new. For example, the speed at which it can change what is displayed is not very fast, so it's not good for watching tv or even on a laptop computer. Another issue right now is color... most of the e-ink displays we hear about are still black and white, which is not a problem for e-book readers, but limits other applications. Hopefully, we'll see this technology improve and see it in all kinds of places in the future. One of the more promising uses will be store signs that can be centrally controlled to show current prices for items and other advertising info. You can find some future uses by following the NE Asia link from here... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ghlight=future (then you can click on the pictures to see them in full size also).

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