better models in the next future?

[bill_mchale]

Didn't LG recently announce a flexible e-Paper display recently? And their existing display featured on the outgoing iRiver Story HD had considerably higher resolution than the standard eInk displays.

--
Bill

[ProfCrash]

How much do they cost? Do we think that people will pay over $150 for an e-ink device now that they can get LCD devices for $200 that do more then just read e-books and magazines?

The technology is improving but unless it costs less than devices that most people see as multi-functional, it is going to be hard to sell them.

[HarryT]

Early adopters are always going to pay more. I paid $640 for my first eInk device (a Sony PRS-500); these days I could buy an least half a dozen much more capable devices for that amount of money.

[ProfCrash]

Yup because we were nuts and thought it was worth the money. Most people are not that interested. Now that the market has changed, there are a multitude of less expensive e-readers out there and cheap tablets, the willingness to invest in something more expensive for a better e-reader is probably going to decline.

I would not spend over $150 today for an e-reader only and I have the K1 which was $400 when I got it. There is no need to spend more. The current screen works well. I have never had a screen problem because of my cover. I have an IPad for anything I need in color. Why would I spend $400 on a color e-ink reader with a stronger screen?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

How much do they cost? Do we think that people will pay over $150 for an e-ink device now that they can get LCD devices for $200 that do more then just read e-books and magazines?

The technology is improving but unless it costs less than devices that most people see as multi-functional, it is going to be hard to sell them.

Exactly.
That is why the prospects for Mirasol and other color reflective displays look so... well, dim.

It is the same dynamic at play as in the HDTV display business.
SED never got anywhere because every time they got close to (economic) production, LCD lowered the price points and they got tired of trying to catch up.

OLED faces the same challenge. They need to get they economics comparable to LCD economics or the customers won't buy; you can't be 20% better and 50% more expensive. You have to be 50% better and 20% pricier, at most. That is *not* easy to do when you're just ramping up and your competitor has fully amortized production facilities.

[ersott]

I´m have worried for the future of the e-ink screens. Recently I see in a blog, that people use tablets more and less e-ink for reading

And reading this post, seems that no appear in the future better features for this tecnology. In the future we will see kindle fire 2 more probability than kindle 5 whith better resolutions, screens bigger or colour eink :-(

[BeccaPrice]

eink screens will probably go the way black and white tvs did - amazing when they came out, who could need color, and then... color! bam! drives out B&W. I don't read magazines or children's books, don't watch videos or play games... I don't *need* a tablet. My k3 is just fine for me thank you... but....color! wow! even if I don't use it.

[ProfCrash]

I can see that there would be a market for a color e-ink reader but I don't know that they will be able to produce one that is priced at a point that people will buy it.

There is a need for a larger e-ink reader for PDF's but the companies who have developed them, Jetbook, Pocketbook, and Amazon have not been able to generate enough interest at the higher price point in order to build enough demand to drive down the cost of building the devices. So people go looking for the larger e-ink reader, find them, go "Wow for that price I could buy Tablet X", complain about the limitations, and most end up buying Tablet X.

I think that color e-ink will be the same way.

In 2007, Sony could charge $500 for a Sony 500 and Amazon could charge $400 for a K1. The devices were new, netbooks were ok for reading but ackward, so the idea of a device for reading alone that could be held in the hand easily and was light weight was cool. It was worth the money to enough folks that demand started to rise, the cost of the components started to drop, the device price started to drop and the K2 and *50's came out at lower prices. The demand increased, the prices dropped more and then came the K3 and the T1 priced under $200 and people were wowed.

Will people willingly pay in the $300 range for a color e-ink screen when they are first released when they can get a tablet that shows color, has a larger screen, and is multi-purpose for less then that? The first wave of color e-ink screens are going to include the cost of research and development and are probably going to have to be more expensive then the e-readers are today.

I am guessing on the price point but the closer a color e-ink screen gets to the cost of a Fire, Vox, or Nook tablet the fewer that will sell.

[abookreader]

I think you are right.
Kindle Fire refurbs are now $139 and for most readers outside of textbook/cookbook and other specialty instances --- black and white meets nearly all their needs.

I think a year ago color eInk could have made a run but not with the plethora of low priced tablet devices available now.

[Kumabjorn]

However, most 7 inch tablets are still to heavy to be a comfortable eReader. The light weight of a dedicated eReader is one of its unsung advantages.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

However, most 7 inch tablets are still to heavy to be a comfortable eReader. The light weight of a dedicated eReader is one of its unsung advantages.

Do you really think that 7" tablets are too heavy? I've never found the weight of my iPad to be a factor in using it, and I'd guess that's probably heavier than a typical 7" device.

[Kumabjorn]

Compared with my Kindle or Sony? Yes, yes I do.
I have a ViewSonic 7" tablet, granted, not the newest model, but I would not keep reading on that for as long as I can read on one of the dedicated eReaders.
With all the extra requirements for an all-purpose tablet they will probably always weigh more than an eReader, I'm sure the gap will be less in the future, but they will probably still require two-handed handling. So from that perspective, I think eReaders do have some less than obvious advantages.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Yup because we were nuts and thought it was worth the money. Most people are not that interested. Now that the market has changed, there are a multitude of less expensive e-readers out there and cheap tablets, the willingness to invest in something more expensive for a better e-reader is probably going to decline.

I would not spend over $150 today for an e-reader only and I have the K1 which was $400 when I got it. There is no need to spend more. The current screen works well. I have never had a screen problem because of my cover. I have an IPad for anything I need in color. Why would I spend $400 on a color e-ink reader with a stronger screen?

You've pretty much just described my view of the situation. I paid around $350 for my PRS-505, and while it was worth every penny at the time, I don't think that I would spend over $250 now for a large screen reader, even with colour, when I'm quite happy using my $150 e-reader for reading novels, and use my iPad when I have a file that my ebook reader can't handle. If I happened to find a large (9.7 or larger) ebook reader for under $250, I would consider buying it.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

I would love to see Amazon come out with a color eInk/Mirasol display, possibly with some Flex lighting. (Pipe dream, I'm sure)

+1

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I can see that there would be a market for a color e-ink reader but I don't know that they will be able to produce one that is priced at a point that people will buy it.

There is a need for a larger e-ink reader for PDF's but the companies who have developed them, Jetbook, Pocketbook, and Amazon have not been able to generate enough interest at the higher price point in order to build enough demand to drive down the cost of building the devices. So people go looking for the larger e-ink reader, find them, go "Wow for that price I could buy Tablet X", complain about the limitations, and most end up buying Tablet X.

I think that color e-ink will be the same way.

In 2007, Sony could charge $500 for a Sony 500 and Amazon could charge $400 for a K1. The devices were new, netbooks were ok for reading but ackward, so the idea of a device for reading alone that could be held in the hand easily and was light weight was cool. It was worth the money to enough folks that demand started to rise, the cost of the components started to drop, the device price started to drop and the K2 and *50's came out at lower prices. The demand increased, the prices dropped more and then came the K3 and the T1 priced under $200 and people were wowed.

Will people willingly pay in the $300 range for a color e-ink screen when they are first released when they can get a tablet that shows color, has a larger screen, and is multi-purpose for less then that? The first wave of color e-ink screens are going to include the cost of research and development and are probably going to have to be more expensive then the e-readers are today.

I am guessing on the price point but the closer a color e-ink screen gets to the cost of a Fire, Vox, or Nook tablet the fewer that will sell.

Well, a color e-ink with full Android and a reasonable refresh rate could beat a tablet at any kind of reading. Web pages, magazines, newspapers, and books. LCDs would only be better for video and gaming. I sure would be willing to pay well for that. And Mirasol has the potential to completely replace LCDs. Sure we love color, but a lot of us just hate reading on LCD tablets.