Economist runs story on e-paper and prosaic e-readers

TadW · 06-17-2007, 05:26 PM

The latest edition of the Economist runs a story on how various companies including E Ink and Sony are working on new technologies to bring e-paper closer to everyday use.

Quote:

Unlike the electrophoretic displays used in E-Ink's products, which rely on charged particles being physically moved by an electric field, Sony's new imaging device uses an organic electroluminescence display (OLED). Such displays emit light in response to an electric current or field being passing through them.

Don't expect such a clever innovation to be wasted on something as prosaic as a portable reader for e-books. Apple's multimedia iPhone may be the gadget du jour, but Sony may trump it with an all-singing-and-dancing gizmo, built around a foldable display for downloading television, which can run for days without recharging. Now that's something not to be sneezed at.

Prosaic portable readers? No comment.

NatCh · 06-17-2007, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Don't expect such a clever innovation to be wasted on something as prosaic as a portable reader for e-books.

What, like the PRS-500? Perhaps they need to let these guys out a bit more often.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 06-17-2007, 08:19 PM

So the author can envision a singing-and-dancing gizmo, downloading television on its foldable display, but he can't see the potential in a device that could carry your entire library with you?

And this is someone writing for The Economist?

NatCh · 06-17-2007, 10:16 PM

It does seem a bit down from their usual standards of ... ehm ... paying attention.

kovidgoyal · 06-18-2007, 12:14 PM

But this technology is not suited for ebooks since as far as I can tell it needs a constant current to emit light. It's USP seems to be foldability not energy efficiency.

NatCh · 06-18-2007, 12:18 PM

I think the OLEDs are supposed to be really low energy consumption, but you're still probably right on that point, kovidgoyal.

kovidgoyal · 06-18-2007, 02:12 PM

Hmm do you mean that they are more efficient that LEDs? After all to achieve the same brightness they have to emit the same amount of light energy.

NatCh · 06-18-2007, 02:27 PM

That's my understanding of it, yes. They turn more of the electricity they get into light rather than other forms of radiation.

kovidgoyal · 06-18-2007, 03:59 PM

Ah OK makes sense.

brecklundin · 06-20-2007, 06:21 PM

biggest issue I see with OLED's are the limited lifespan of the displays and power consumption. E-ink type displays will be the future. Likely this author is the sort who believes because it's color it must be superior technology.

If it consumes power to remain viewable then it is not a future solution. That is pretty much how I envision the issue. But e-ink must eventually show it can move into active content (moving picture stuff)...not sure if it will still be competitive power wise with OLED then. But for static pages no contest.

NatCh · 06-20-2007, 07:30 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, brecklundin!

Your points about the power consumption on OLEDs vs e-ink for static content is well taken, but you seem to be unaware that e-ink also apparently has a limited life span. It's hard to get a number on it is all, 'cause e-ink, inc. is keeping mum on the subject. Some estimates are as low as 10 years, but who knows what the reality is.

brecklundin · 06-20-2007, 07:45 PM

howdy...thanks for the welcome!!

And no I was not aware about the limited life span on the e-ink...d'oh!! and well, just darn...just DARN it...always with the limitiations...

But 10-years if true is not horrible I guess.

I just wanted to come back and add that as I understand OLED's (which could be wrong too) their life span is typically 3-4 years? And this was one of the stumbling blocks in mfg's widely adopting that technology in many applications?

NatCh · 06-20-2007, 10:59 PM

I dunno what the expected life-span of OLEDs would be, but if it is that short, then yeah, I'd call that a significant stumbling block! I believe that one of the challenges has been getting an OLED 'formula' for blue, that's been particularly elusive, apparently.

brecklundin · 06-21-2007, 04:29 AM

Hi Nat:

Just did a fast search about the OLED lifespan issue. The info I had was a bit out of date and from the first part of this year. I had read the life span of an OLED display was about 10,000hrs. While that is about 1-1/4 yrs of 24/7 use that is pretty limited compared to LCD's.

I guess now the claims for current OLED displays is about 25,000 - 35,000 hrs which is 3-5 yrs worth of hours. My concern with them is because the emitting material in each emitter is consumed in the process of using them, that the display will become unusable long before they actually stop working. Also will the display's degrade evenly or get sorta "patchy"...we really have no idea I guess.

This is where I love the potential of e-ink though I am still somewhat fuzzy on exactly how the segments work and display. With their inherent ability to be used outside and lower power demands it just seems like they are almost too good to be true.

So in the mean time I am saving my pennies to treat myself to a gen2 or maybe a gen3 reader next year sometime when the market place sees a bit more in terms of options. For now I am using an old M125 and my laptop.

NatCh · 06-21-2007, 08:22 AM

Hmmm. I hadn't realized that OLEDs 'ate themselves' during normal operation, that would be a problem.

I think the concerned failure mode for e-ink is that the particles could lose their charge over time.

Of course, both of those scenarios might result in a patchy display, but it does sound like e-ink still has it over OLEDs for the time being.

Although ... OLEDs might be a good choice for some sort of built in edge-lighting approach, it wouldn't need to be on constantly, so the more limited life-span would be less of an issue, and the extremely low power consumption would certainly be a boon for an e-ink reader....

If you'd like a quick primer on how e-ink functions, have a look here.

If you've got something that's working more or less satisfactorily for you, I'd recommend that you wait to buy until you're comfortable with the product you're looking at. We're supposed to see gen2 (Viziplex) screens popping up in commercial products sometime later this year.

A lot has happened in the e-reader market in the last 12 months, and the next 12 look even more exciting. I'm hoping that this is the decade in which e-books and e-readers get a true, practical, effective beginning in terms of availability, acceptance and market penetration. There are a number of stars seeming to align these days, so we'll see.

06-20-2007, 07:45 PM	#12
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	howdy...thanks for the welcome!! And no I was not aware about the limited life span on the e-ink...d'oh!! and well, just darn...just DARN it...always with the limitiations... But 10-years if true is not horrible I guess. I just wanted to come back and add that as I understand OLED's (which could be wrong too) their life span is typically 3-4 years? And this was one of the stumbling blocks in mfg's widely adopting that technology in many applications? Last edited by brecklundin; 06-20-2007 at 07:59 PM.

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06-17-2007, 08:19 PM	#3
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	So the author can envision a singing-and-dancing gizmo, downloading television on its foldable display, but he can't see the potential in a device that could carry your entire library with you? And this is someone writing for The Economist?

06-17-2007, 10:16 PM	#4
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	It does seem a bit down from their usual standards of ... ehm ... paying attention.

06-18-2007, 12:14 PM	#5
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,166 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	But this technology is not suited for ebooks since as far as I can tell it needs a constant current to emit light. It's USP seems to be foldability not energy efficiency.

06-18-2007, 12:18 PM	#6
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I think the OLEDs are supposed to be really low energy consumption, but you're still probably right on that point, kovidgoyal.

06-18-2007, 02:12 PM	#7
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,166 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Hmm do you mean that they are more efficient that LEDs? After all to achieve the same brightness they have to emit the same amount of light energy.

06-18-2007, 02:27 PM	#8
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	That's my understanding of it, yes. They turn more of the electricity they get into light rather than other forms of radiation.

06-18-2007, 03:59 PM	#9
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,166 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Ah OK makes sense.

06-20-2007, 06:21 PM	#10
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	biggest issue I see with OLED's are the limited lifespan of the displays and power consumption. E-ink type displays will be the future. Likely this author is the sort who believes because it's color it must be superior technology. If it consumes power to remain viewable then it is not a future solution. That is pretty much how I envision the issue. But e-ink must eventually show it can move into active content (moving picture stuff)...not sure if it will still be competitive power wise with OLED then. But for static pages no contest.

06-20-2007, 07:30 PM	#11
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Welcome to MobileRead, brecklundin! Your points about the power consumption on OLEDs vs e-ink for static content is well taken, but you seem to be unaware that e-ink also apparently has a limited life span. It's hard to get a number on it is all, 'cause e-ink, inc. is keeping mum on the subject. Some estimates are as low as 10 years, but who knows what the reality is.

06-20-2007, 10:59 PM	#13
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I dunno what the expected life-span of OLEDs would be, but if it is that short, then yeah, I'd call that a significant stumbling block! I believe that one of the challenges has been getting an OLED 'formula' for blue, that's been particularly elusive, apparently.

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06-21-2007, 04:29 AM	#14
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	Hi Nat: Just did a fast search about the OLED lifespan issue. The info I had was a bit out of date and from the first part of this year. I had read the life span of an OLED display was about 10,000hrs. While that is about 1-1/4 yrs of 24/7 use that is pretty limited compared to LCD's. I guess now the claims for current OLED displays is about 25,000 - 35,000 hrs which is 3-5 yrs worth of hours. My concern with them is because the emitting material in each emitter is consumed in the process of using them, that the display will become unusable long before they actually stop working. Also will the display's degrade evenly or get sorta "patchy"...we really have no idea I guess. This is where I love the potential of e-ink though I am still somewhat fuzzy on exactly how the segments work and display. With their inherent ability to be used outside and lower power demands it just seems like they are almost too good to be true. So in the mean time I am saving my pennies to treat myself to a gen2 or maybe a gen3 reader next year sometime when the market place sees a bit more in terms of options. For now I am using an old M125 and my laptop.

06-21-2007, 08:22 AM	#15
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Hmmm. I hadn't realized that OLEDs 'ate themselves' during normal operation, that would be a problem. I think the concerned failure mode for e-ink is that the particles could lose their charge over time. Of course, both of those scenarios might result in a patchy display, but it does sound like e-ink still has it over OLEDs for the time being. Although ... OLEDs might be a good choice for some sort of built in edge-lighting approach, it wouldn't need to be on constantly, so the more limited life-span would be less of an issue, and the extremely low power consumption would certainly be a boon for an e-ink reader.... If you'd like a quick primer on how e-ink functions, have a look here. If you've got something that's working more or less satisfactorily for you, I'd recommend that you wait to buy until you're comfortable with the product you're looking at. We're supposed to see gen2 (Viziplex) screens popping up in commercial products sometime later this year. A lot has happened in the e-reader market in the last 12 months, and the next 12 look even more exciting. I'm hoping that this is the decade in which e-books and e-readers get a true, practical, effective beginning in terms of availability, acceptance and market penetration. There are a number of stars seeming to align these days, so we'll see.