Big format e-readers

[Kule]

Hi,

I have many drawings/sketches which look beautiful on my 27" inch 4k display, but I simply cant load (and present) them on any portable e-reader device on the market.

How far are we from getting one e-readers that are bigger than 13.3" (color or b&w)?
Atm, I would find good use for A3 format.
What are incoming technologies to look forward to?

Regards,
Kule

[MarjaE]

Closest I've found is the old Kindle Dx. Most newer devices use touchscreens, and I can't use those, and most have smaller screens.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by MarjaE

Closest I've found is the old Kindle Dx. Most newer devices use touchscreens, and I can't use those, and most have smaller screens.

There are some now that have a 10.3" screen. But 13.3" is the largest screen currently.

[BookCat]

The OP might be better off with a large tablet in order to display the images in colour. E-ink isn't yet available in anything other than shades of grey, though many have the option to turn the lighting warmer this doesn't actually display colour.

A3 is fairly big for anything portable. I'm not sure that size exists. A4, maybe.

I have pads of paper (for painting cats) in A3 which are awkward to pick up and move round.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by BookCat

The OP might be better off with a large tablet in order to display the images in colour. E-ink isn't yet available in anything other than shades of grey, though many have the option to turn the lighting warmer this doesn't actually display colour.

A3 is fairly big for anything portable. I'm not sure that size exists. A4, maybe.

I have pads of paper (for painting cats) in A3 which are awkward to pick up and move round.

Samsung has a 17 inch tablet.
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galax...5205153&sr=8-4

There's also a few big and pricey laptops.
Resolution is only HD.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Samsung has a 17 inch tablet.
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galax...5205153&sr=8-4

There's also a few big and pricey laptops.
Resolution is only HD.

The Samsung Galaxy View 2 is also only full HD resolution.

[theducks]

Anyone remember thinking a 12" CGA CRT was the cats meow?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by theducks

Anyone remember thinking a 12" CGA CRT was the cats meow?

I remember specifically not thinking that because of what I was exposed to at work.

[Kule]

Originally Posted by BookCat

The OP might be better off with a large tablet in order to display the images in colour. E-ink isn't yet available in anything other than shades of grey, though many have the option to turn the lighting warmer this doesn't actually display colour.

A3 is fairly big for anything portable. I'm not sure that size exists. A4, maybe.

I have pads of paper (for painting cats) in A3 which are awkward to pick up and move round.

Large e-ink displayes do exist like presented here:
https://shopkits.eink.com/product-ca...ay-modules/15/

But there are no signs of them coming to the mainstream market. If tablets with large display can find a way to the market, I am sure large e-ink displays are viable option.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kule

Large e-ink displayes do exist like presented here:
https://shopkits.eink.com/product-ca...ay-modules/15/

But there are no signs of them coming to the mainstream market. If tablets with large display can find a way to the market, I am sure large e-ink displays are viable option.

Assumes facts not in evidence.
The reason there are no signs of big eink products coming to market is because there is no market for them to come into. Just because something is technically feasible doesn't make it economically feasible. And big eink isn't.

1- The ebook market is several orders of magnitude smaller than the LCD markets so the R&D costs must be amortized over a much smaller production run, which raises the production unit costs beyond the point where eink's positive attributes can justify it.

2- The primary market for eink is still mass market paperback-replacement ebook readers. Attempts have been made by companies like Sony, Pocketbpok, and others, to expand the tech to other markets with minimal outcomes.

3- The technology is stagmant. Over ten years it has improved its contrast slightly and its resolution by maybe two. The biggest improvement has been in external illumination, rather than the eink itself. And that has come at the expense of battery life. The tech is still very good at what it does but what it does hasn't evolved enough to take it anywhere else against LCD. If anything, eink is losing ground in its home turf--ebook reading-- against phones and dirt cheap tablets.

https://the-digital-reader.com/2019/...xt-five-years/

eInk is a niche tech and by now it's clear it is not going mainstream anywhere else. Sure, somebody might go and do a limited run of a few thousand units of a large panel but by the time the panel ends up in a product the product will likely cost multiple times what an LCD equivalent would.

It's not the tech that's the issue, it's the economics.
LCD holds the high ground of price/performance and that makes it the benchmark other aspirants have to meet. Plasma couldn't. SED couldn't. Mirasol and Liquavista couldn't.
OLED has been given it a try but it's starting to show weaknesses in larger than phone sizes and some of the companies are moving their R&D on to newer LCD and LED evolutions.
eInk isn't even a player anymore.
It's biggest challenge no longer is trying to grow into new markets as much as it is remaining relevant in its own niche.

[JSWolf]

And one other thing not mentioned. larger device with an eInk screen (let's say a 17" screen) will be more expensive then most would be willing to pay. It would never get enough sales to be a viable product. As for reading, it's too large. 8" is (IMHO) the largest viable size for reading a novel.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by theducks

Anyone remember thinking a 12" CGA CRT was the cats meow?

I remember spending big bucks to buy a 15" Sony CRT.
Apache

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by Kule

How far are we from getting one e-readers that are bigger than 13.3" (color or b&w)?

An A4 or US Letter size screen on an e-reader is going to be the largest that you'll find. The economics are such, that it only makes sense in niche markets: military aviation, civil law practice, etc.
The only alleged eInk A4 size eReader I've seen, had an MSRP in the low five digit range.

Tablets are a slightly different matter. But even there, economics, and size constraints come into play. For A3 and larger sizes, the manufacturer is competing with monitors that utilize a single board computer as an accessory.