For newspapers the promise of a reusable electronic paper device has always been that it would offer the ease and interactivity of electronic publishing while giving the customer a device as light as a magazine and as easy to read - unlike lumpy notebooks or low-res handheld devices.
But Dr. Stig Nordqvist, project leader of the
Ifra eNews 2008 incentive, is rather dismayed at the current status quo of e-reader devices. From the latest Ifra "newspaper techniques" magazine:
"E-Readers have been hyped quite a lot in the press this past spring. In the last year we have seen a promising development in e-paper displays, black and white with rich contrast, good improvement in speed, for example, the E Ink v2.5 and Bridgestone QRP technology. We have also seen good enough color filter solutions from Toppan and iRex Technologies, and interesting new alternatives from, for example, Fujitsu. Despite all this, I still think the e-reader devices so far are disappointing."
Specifically, Nordqvist finds that the iRex iLiad reader doesn't live up to the hype. It's still too slow and impractical to be turned into consumer marketplace reality. This comes quite as a surprise since iRex is also an Ifra technology member.
So what's your opinion? Should we still wait for better alternatives or are current e-paper readers adequate for our daily consumption?