Color eink: maybe now they really do it?

[mikij1]

maybe I should have said "tired eyesight" instead of "sight damage"

Backlit displays are worse for the view than eink ... otherwise eink would not exist. This should be clear to all.

And no, in my country, tablets are not used to study (yes to work)...as far as I know (I have left school a long time ago)

[Apache]

Try welding Platinum using a torch and without welding Googles.
Apache

[Deskisamess]

I’ve no problems using a backlit device in a well lit room. But backlighting does bother my eyes in a dark room, especially when I’m reading without my glasses, which I do at night. I can see clearly with a device close to my eyes, 6-8 inches, but being so close, even lowered brightness of backlighting is uncomfortable for me.

White text on a black background is the worst...it’s like tiny shards of light, and I have no tolerance for it.

Now, if I keep my glasses on, and hold the device 14-18 inches from my eyes, I can tolerate it for a longer time, maybe 30 minutes.

With frontlit e-ink, I can hold the device near my eyes and read for a couple of hours, no problem. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I can turn the front light of the Kindle down even more.

The brightness of backlighting doesn’t “damage” my eyes, but it bothers them. Like a flashbulb going off, or being in the bright sun. I get blinky and my eyes may tear up, and it’s not pleasant.

iPads and tablets are very common here in Ohio in the schools, as are Chromebooks. When my son was teaching in a school in Louisville KY, they had hundreds of iPad 2 models for the classrooms.

[mikij1]

Deskisamess curious that. In Spain we have textbooks in which you can write ... so they are not worth from one year to another (as if it happened in the past) and publishers can earn their money every year, ejem, ejem...

I think that if someone manage to get a good quality color ereader and a big screen (10-13"), it will be a guaranteed success. Time will tell.

Sorry my English (I need help of Google translate jeje).

[azayn]

While this demo looks impressive, they’ve been teasing color e-Ink for 10 years now so not holding my breath. I’ll believe it when I see it. Even if it does come out in 2020 it will take a few years before prices come down enough to make purchase viable.

[leebase]

EInk devices exist for more than “a person doesn’t like reading on a device”. They are small, light, great battery life and are uncomplicated..

EInk devices came to market before everyone had a smart phone and before the iPad and the tablet revolution that followed.

The reason we don’t have now and probably never will have a reflective color ink technology come to mass market use....is that we now already have color tablets and phones at prices so low there simply isn’t room for a new tech entrance GIVEN that far and away most people have no trouble reading on a device.

Color that isn’t photographic quality AND supports video...just won’t be accepted at mass market levels.

People who read for pleasure enough to buy a tech device for reading...are a very small market to begin with.

[azayn]

Originally Posted by leebase

Color that isn’t photographic quality AND supports video...just won’t be accepted at mass market levels.

People who read for pleasure enough to buy a tech device for reading...are a very small market to begin with.

I would argue that the market segment that e-ink currently caters to is the same one that would be interested in color e-ink. To me, color is just the next phase in the evolution of e-reader technology. In fact, it would probably help the ebook reader base grow because it would appeal to a wider range of readers than monochrome e-ink.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by azayn

I would argue that the market segment that e-ink currently caters to is the same one that would be interested in color e-ink. To me, color is just the next phase in the evolution of e-reader technology. In fact, it would probably help the ebook reader base grow because it would appeal to a wider range of readers than monochrome e-ink.

Of course people want color eInk or equivalent. What they won’t want is anything that has been shown so far. And give that we already have photographic quality and video at cheap prices....there will be no mass market there for sucky color eInk.

Those people who can’t enjoy a tablet or smartphone experience are just too few to over come the obstacles to serve

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by azayn

I would argue that the market segment that e-ink currently caters to is the same one that would be interested in color e-ink. To me, color is just the next phase in the evolution of e-reader technology. In fact, it would probably help the ebook reader base grow because it would appeal to a wider range of readers than monochrome e-ink.

I'm not so sure. I love e-ink readers, but have little interest in color e-ink. The reading material I use that needs color...magazines, or books with lots of photos, generally also look better on a larger screen. So they work great on my iPads, Mini or Pro.

I don't want a larger e-ink reader than my Oasis 2. And if I had it to do over again I'm not sure I'd buy the Oasis, after using it for 18 months. I find the new Paperwhite to be a better choice, when cost is factored in, the Oasis is not worth the added cost.

My perfect e-ink reader would be shaped more like a paperback book, taller, and a bit more narrow than the Paperwhite, with auto-rotation, and a slightly wider bezel on the right side with no page turn buttons.

[Dazrin]

Unless they come up with a REALLY good color e-ink solution (video, good size, and very good color representation) there are very few people who will want one, let alone get one:

• Tech early adopters (gadget people who buy everything anyway)
• Comic book and other visual book readers who also don't like back-lit (LCD) screens (as long as the screen size is at least comic book size and the colors can match basic comic books.)

I'm not sure what the comic book market is like these days, but the subset who is unsatisfied with current options and would want e-ink is probably fairly small. That corner of the market could probably be enlarged by a color e-ink device with a "killer app", something that adds a lot of value to how they able to enjoy their media, but I'm not sure what that would be or how much that would add.

I could also see some technical book / reference type books being well received in a color e-ink device too but, and this is my own bias showing, I suspect people doing this type of reading will want paper copies anyway. While I would love a good 10"-12" color e-reader for reference materials the navigation has never really been adequate for me in any device (e-reader, computer, tablet, phone, etc.)

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by azayn

I would argue that the market segment that e-ink currently caters to is the same one that would be interested in color e-ink.

I disagree.
The people currently buying mainstream eInk devices are using them to read normal books, which gain almost nothing from colour.
And a significant factor in eInk readers becoming mainstream was them becoming cheap. Colour would add a lot of cost for not much functionality for most users.
If in 5-10 years time colour has become cheap enough that it is adding only a small amount to the cost, it might become mainstream.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by azayn

I would argue that the market segment that e-ink currently caters to is the same one that would be interested in color e-ink. To me, color is just the next phase in the evolution of e-reader technology. In fact, it would probably help the ebook reader base grow because it would appeal to a wider range of readers than monochrome e-ink.

What is the roadmap to that next phase? No matter how brilliantly red, white, or blue you can make an individual eink subpixel, it will be next to three or more "white" subpixels. Multicolor eink is fundamentally limited to pastels, lightish grays, and various shades of mud.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by mikij1

I will never understand those who say that color epaper is not necessary. I would die for an ereader in which to be able to read comics, magazines, my technical books without damaging my eyes... and I think millions of students think the same.

The problem is that the vast majority of readers read novels. That's mostly what I read. Color, even if it was perfect, wouldn't mean much to me at all.

I think most people who read comics and textbooks and technical books use tablets. Given that the ereader market is diminishing anyway I don't think we'll see many of them in color even if the technology is ready.

I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the new 10" devices uses color e-ink but they're not really ereaders anyway. They're e-ink tablets in most ways.

Barry

[Bookchin]

Originally Posted by leebase

The reason we don’t have now and probably never will have a reflective color ink technology come to mass market use....is that we now already have color tablets and phones at prices so low there simply isn’t room for a new tech entrance GIVEN that far and away most people have no trouble reading on a device.

Small cheap Kindle tablets and similar other brands are priced low. However, large size color tablets for reading pdf's, color comics, magazines, etc (the very market these color e-ink devices are aimed at) are definitely not "low" priced. 12" Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, HP, and other large tablets start at over $1200. here in Canada.

Lots of people would welcome a large 12" or more color e-ink device if it were competitively priced.

The promotional brochure for the Wacom device featured in the video claims it is shatterproof, something that is already an advantage over other e-readers. It also said mass production is scheduled for 2020 Q2 and several companies have put in orders.

By next summer we should know whether this is vaporware, what exactly these things are, what sizes are available, and what the price points are.

[leebase]

Always next year.