Quote:
Originally Posted by karunaji
It is a shame that e-ink technology is stagnating. I think that the potential of this technology is not exhausted yet. I would like to have an affordable e-ink computer screen, for example, but I don't see any movements into this area yet. Is it due to stifling patent issues or simply an economic recession that prevents it?
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Probably cost-benefit analysis.
(There is no reason for patent issues to crop up, stiflying or otherwise.)
Eink screen volumes at 6in are extremely high, but low at 10in, which results in high unit prices. Going to 20+ inches, absent really high demand, would likely result in extremely high prices. And that is without factoring in the lack of color and video-grade refresh rates.
LCD is a known technology, both design- and manufacturing-wise so getting big doesn't add too much to the cost and, equally important, there is a *known* market for larger-than-eink sizes, so producing 24in LCD monitors has become a commodity business, producing US$149 and lower prices for them, with 20in models routinely hitting $99. (Absurdly large displays are already commercially viable with LCD, with 90in displays headed to market this year, priced in the $5-6000 range.)
Color eink panels by themselves are such a new product that even the 10in size probably costs more than the full 24in LCD monitor. Even 10in B&W panels are likely more expensive than the monitor.
Add in, then, that the strengths of eink outdoor readability and extremely low power consumption aren't going to drive many sales in the office equipment market and I think we can expect computer displays to remain out of the reach of the eink tech for the forseeable future.
Which isn't to say the things can't be built; just that they would likely sell for high 4-digit prices.
Do you want one *that* bad?
