Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
I expect that displays with a glass substrate have a higher production yield than those with plastic substrates.
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They are also likely better quality and more durable if not cracked. Some later ereaders have a better support of chassis. Glass is stable and more perfect as a substrate than plastic. Only sapphire is better. Though for cooling a diamond substrate is even better. It's technically possible with artificial diamond.
Plastics degrade, can be porous, can warp, can contaminate contents etc. Most HDDs now use glass with a magnetic coating rather than aluminium. Plastic is simply a cheap material for larger sizes, or if you want a roll-up display.
The title should be "Ereader screens to get a small incremental improvement".
The Press Release is an advert. The claims are overblown. Cost difference vs complete ereader will be marginal and the contrast-brightness will be somewhere between the original Aura HD H2O with IR (no touch layer) and the Paper White 3 or Kobo Libra (similar brightness and quality screens with touch).
Capacitive touch needs a transparent metallised patterned layer, traditionally tin, under the top surface. It's inherently low resolution which is why PDAs (1990s) and Smart Phones (1998-2007) used resistive as it's very high resolution for a handwriting stylus. Capacitive is as old as Resistive (1980s) but was out of favour till Tile GUIs replaced WIMP GUIs on phones and gadgets. Trolltech tiles, then iPhone (GUI bought in from Fingerworks), iPad and Zune in that order. Google bought in Android too.
Composite or non-touch hires screens now often use the Waycom system, which is behind the panel. Proper Waycom systems power the stylus from the panel behind the screen allowing use without a battery, pressure, buttons and even angle from electronics in the pen. There are a few composite capacitive and resistive screens, but they really need LCD or OLED as there are extra layers. Passive pointy stick stylus.
A third type of screen with the sensor behind the screen uses a pen-stylus with a battery in it.
Fourth option is a miniature pen shaped mouse. Which was the original aim in Xerox in 1970s, but they couldn't miniaturise it so the mouse was born for the WIMP GUI. I'd call it a pointing-pebble, not a mouse as it has no fur, no eyes, no ears, no mouth. The wireless ones don't even have a tail!
I developed a pen in 1989 and the pen also had a microphone and earpiece to work as a cordless handset for a phone, but also it had a patterned 3mm ball with an optical sensor to work as a mouse. Logitech later had the marble track-ball that was basically an upside down optical mouse with a ball on top.