New e-Paper for the future.

[philb]

A Chinese manufacturer is claiming to have invented a new graphene based e-paper.

"Graphene-based e-paper will mean stronger, lighter, and brighter displays in any ebook reader or fitness wearable that employs it.


http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/s...ted?source=rss

[Nate the great]

It won't be used in ereaders. There's no money in that market any more:
http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...ears-too-late/

[Bob B]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

It won't be used in ereaders. There's no money in that market any more:
http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...ears-too-late/

This quote from the article you referenced struck me funny...

"Also, Amazon has driven the price of an ereader low enough that margins are too thin to support the development costs of a new screen, so if this tech does reach the market it will be a different market - signage, probably."

Amazon recently announced a $290 e-reader called the Oasis. Seems like Amazon is trying to drive the price of e-readers up, not down.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Bob B

This quote from the article you referenced struck me funny...

"Also, Amazon has driven the price of an ereader low enough that margins are too thin to support the development costs of a new screen, so if this tech does reach the market it will be a different market - signage, probably."

Amazon recently announced a $290 e-reader called the Oasis. Seems like Amazon is trying to drive the price of e-readers up, not down.

Good point, but -

Let's wait and see what Amazon does with the $80 Kindle. If they raise the price with the next model then you were right.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Bob B

Amazon recently announced a $290 e-reader called the Oasis. Seems like Amazon is trying to drive the price of e-readers up, not down.

I would be inclined to say no, they are not trying to drive the prices up.
$300 for a premium ereader with a case is not badly priced at all.
Most items come in various price ranges.
Heck a bottom end kindle is $80. That is without a cover.
Then the more features you add on, the higher the price.
I think the term is "what is the market willing to pay"

You know groceries are the same way.
I can buy corn for 80 cents or I can buy the same amount of corn for $3.
Most of the extra cost is in the packaging and how it is marketing.

So no, not trying to drive the cost up, they are giving people what the people think they want at a price they think people are willing to pay.

Simple marketing.

[MGlitch]

But Amazon didn't just offer the case, they made it mandatory. Arguing that the price would be lower if the case were not included is pointless, by that logic the device would be cheaper if the screen weren't included. But there's no option to get an ereader sans screen, nor is there one to get the Oasis sans case.

The low end Kindle will tell the tale, if they raise the price they're clearly pushing the price up, if they keep it the same it's still possible they're trying to push it up, but if they release a new low end for sub 80$ then they're playing both ends of the spectrum.

[rem736]

anyone knows if graphene is capable of displaying color? maybe this will be the innovation that really changes the e-ink market.

[Barty]

Will this have much better contrast or response time than e-ink? Just thinner and lighter doesn't do much.

Article very helpfully shows picture of two e-ink readers. So not even a prototype available. We saw working prototypes of mirasol and liquivista years ago. One is dead and one is still in a lab somewhere. This thing probably won't ever see light of day.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I would be inclined to say no, they are not trying to drive the prices up.
$300 for a premium ereader with a case is not badly priced at all.
Most items come in various price ranges.
Heck a bottom end kindle is $80. That is without a cover.
Then the more features you add on, the higher the price.
I think the term is "what is the market willing to pay"

You know groceries are the same way.
I can buy corn for 80 cents or I can buy the same amount of corn for $3.
Most of the extra cost is in the packaging and how it is marketing.

So no, not trying to drive the cost up, they are giving people what the people think they want at a price they think people are willing to pay.

Simple marketing.

Yup.
Barley is getting up around two dollars a pound if you buy name brands in a fancy box.
But I bought fifty pounds of barley last week shipped in a plastic sack for forty-two dollars.
Marketing and packaging.

[DuckieTigger]

Graphene has other interesting uses as flexible substrate. If you were to combine an already flexible e-ink screen with a graphene substrate, that would be really nice.

No pictures again, but another useful application of graphene:

http://www.gizmag.com/graphene-led-d...tronics/35884/

[344a]

If this material can only be used in ereaders, it is dead. But the material can be used in different things, then the costs of making it would be much lower.

Originally Posted by MGlitch

But Amazon didn't just offer the case, they made it mandatory. Arguing that the price would be lower if the case were not included is pointless, by that logic the device would be cheaper if the screen weren't included. But there's no option to get an ereader sans screen, nor is there one to get the Oasis sans case.

The low end Kindle will tell the tale, if they raise the price they're clearly pushing the price up, if they keep it the same it's still possible they're trying to push it up, but if they release a new low end for sub 80$ then they're playing both ends of the spectrum.

For anyone who has been purchasing eReaders since they first debuted with eInk screens, the $300 current price tag is still less than they sold for a decade ago. It was difficult to find an eInk eReader for $300 or less in the first year or two or more. And those early models were dinosaurs compared to the premium devices available now. Yes, Amazon did sell cheap devices for long enough of a time to virtually capture the market. Look at what happened to so many of the competitors like the B&N Nook and Sony. Where are their eInk eReaders now? They are extinct! Kobo is holding on, but those guys still haven't learned how to produce stabilized FW, and even if they do they piddled away any opportunity to compete against the Amazon bookstore, just like B&N on Sony did before them. Is Amazon now reversing field after conquering the eBook industry and thus raising the prices on Kindles to make a larger profit? I doubt it. They are still selling Kindles cheaper than they did a decade ago, and those prices from a decade ago would have to be adjusted upwards to reflect inflation over the past decade. I think Amazon probably is trying to make a little profit now since they probably didn't make much profit off of the earlier Kindles since they sold them so cheap. But really, did they need to make a huge profit, or any profit, off of the Kindles? Probably not. Amazon makes good money off of the bookstore , enough money than can afford to sell the Kindles at cost or near cost if they so choose.

[Phogg]

Kobo is doing fine. The United states is not the whole market, and even here Kobo is hardly flirting with collapse.
Getting the first waterproof unit out (and with a larger Carta screen) gave them a boost.

[MGlitch]

BN also put out a new eink ereader just a few months ago. I don't pretend to like BN, due to their decisions with how their handling Nook, but they are still there.

And i would certainly hope the over all price for ereaders has gone down. However, given the currently available devices, their price range and feature set, and how the Oasis compares to them, Amazon has clearly driven the price up. The Oasis, hardware wise, is nothing really innovative. The screen is the same as previous Kindles. They added lights. They changed the outside. And they made the cover fancy and mandatory.

Oh, and my Kobo H2O has been stable as a rock. Despite my tinkering with the firmware in unofficial ways.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Good point, but -

Let's wait and see what Amazon does with the $80 Kindle. If they raise the price with the next model then you were right.

The pricing policy from one company doesn't proof or disproof a point. Almost everybody thought tablets were dead and the Apple came around... the same with Donald Trump. Almost anybody thought it was a joke and he is dead in the water.

I don't think it's too late. Improvements will come in waves when you least expect it.