Well considering my last post about the
Sony DPT-RP1 and CP1 being extremely fragile and having inherent QC issues I believe there is some truth to your post.
I believe there are multiple reasons for this listed in order of importance.
Quote:
1. E-Ink is a new and a relative (compared to the usual TN and IPS-Panels) expensive technology which forces manufacturers to save on other costs to provide a competitive pricing. Plus nobody really knows the yield rates for E-Ink Displays and what margin of defects are accepted (such as dead or stuck pixels, bad contrasts etc.). Since they are so expensive it would be logical that minor defects are accepted in production instead of driving the price even higher.
This is especially true for the larger E-Ink Devices with the 10.3" and 13.3" Panels which costs hundreds of dollars already by themselves (extremely expensive for a mass-manufactured products)
2. Most of the E-Ink Manufacturers are rather new companies such as Onyx or Boyue which do not have the money and resources like larger Companies as Sony which makes it even harder to massproduce at a low cost.
3. The demand for a lighter and more slim reader is higher than for a durable one similiar to the tablet market.
4. Android Implementation highly varies among the manufacturers which each one having their own pros and cons (some more than others). This goes back to point 1 again since a proper android implementation is expensive but on the other hand necessary because E-Ink needs a customized software in comparison to a Tablet. A good software to hardware integration is mandatory for a great eink product and imo nearly all manufacturers fail at this point especially when it comes to PDF Readers with note/annotating features etc.
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Now my perspective is mostly focused on the large screen readers since that is what I am interested in but seeing how even a huge company like sony messed up the Sony DPT-R1/CP1 I believe its a very tough product which will improve over the years (hopefully the next 5 years). I am very happy and thankful for this technology though.
I am still using my Hanvon E920 (1600x1200 E-Ink Pearl Display with customized Win CE 6.0 OP) and even for how limited it still is I read a ton of non-fiction books on it without any problems
