Paper Gadgets

E Ink to be bought for $215M by Prime View International

2009-06-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) — E Ink Corp., the maker of the innovative display for the Amazon Kindle e-book reader, said Monday it has agreed to be acquired by a Taiwanese company for $215 million.
The buyer is Prime View International, which has been Cambridge, Mass.-based E Ink's partner in making "electronic ink" displays for Amazon.com Inc. and Sony Corp.
The deal will help the combined company develop color versions of its displays and mass produce them by the end of 2010, said Sriram Peruvemba, E Ink's vice president of marketing. Current models show shades of gray.
Privately held E Ink is expected to demonstrate its latest color display prototypes Tuesday at a display technology show in San Antonio.
E Ink's displays are used in e-book readers because they look similar to regular paper and consume very little power. However, they take a relatively long time to switch between images, making navigation slow.
E Ink makes the top layer of the electronic ink displays, then ships them to Prime View, which adds a bottom layer that's similar to those used in LCD panels. Prime View bought the electronic ink technology of Royal Philips Electronics NV in 2005.
E Ink, which was spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said it had raised more than $150 million from investors, including Intel Corp., Motorola Corp. and Hearst Corp. E Ink had first-quarter revenue of $18 million. It has not revealed whether it is profitable.
Peruvemba said E Ink expects to keep its offices and factory in Massachusetts and is continuing to hire, but the headquarters of the combined company will be in Taiwan.

Amazon inroduces Kindle DX

2009-05-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

Introducing Kindle DX–Amazon’s Large Screen Addition to the Kindle Family of Wireless Reading Devices

Large Kindle DX Display and New Features Provide Enhanced Experience for Reading a Wide Range of Professional and Personal Documents
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 6, 2009– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today introduced Amazon Kindle DX, the new purpose-built reading device that offers Kindle’s revolutionary wireless delivery and massive selection of content with a large 9.7-inch electronic paper display, built-in PDF reader, auto-rotate capability, and storage for up to 3,500 books. More than 275,000 books are now available in the Kindle Store, including 107 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases are $9.99 unless marked otherwise. Top U.S. and international magazines and newspapers plus more than 1,500 blogs are also available. Kindle DX is available for pre-order starting today for $489 at http://amazon.com/kindleDX and will ship this summer.

“Personal and professional documents look so good on the big Kindle DX display that you’ll find yourself changing ink-toner cartridges less often,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “Cookbooks, computer books, and textbooks – anything highly formatted – also shine on the Kindle DX. Carry all your documents and your whole library in one slender package.”

New Large Display

Kindle DX’s display has 2.5 times the surface area of Kindle’s 6-inch display. The larger electronic paper display with 16 shades of gray has more area for graphic-rich content such as professional and personal documents, newspapers and magazines, and textbooks. Kindle reads like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn’t use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays.

The New York Times Company and Washington Post Company are launching pilots with Kindle DX this summer. The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post will offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price to readers who live in areas where home-delivery is not available and who sign up for a long-term subscription to the Kindle edition of the newspapers.

“At The New York Times Company we are always seeking new ways for our millions of readers to have full and continuing access to our high-quality news and information,” said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Company and publisher, The New York Times. “The wireless delivery and new value-added features of the Kindle DX will provide our large, loyal audience, no matter where they live, with an exciting new way to interact with The New York Times and The Boston Globe. Additionally, by offering a subscription through the Kindle DX to readers who live outside of our delivery areas, we will extend our reach to our loyal readers who will be able to more readily enjoy their favorite newspapers. Meanwhile, we are continuing to work with Amazon to make The New York Times and The Boston Globe experiences on Kindle better than ever.”

Kindle DX’s large display offers an enhanced reading experience with another category of graphic-rich content—textbooks. With complex images, tables, charts, graphs, and equations, textbooks look best on a large display. Leading textbook publishers Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley, together representing more than 60 percent of the U.S. higher education textbook market, will begin offering textbooks through the Kindle Store beginning this summer. Textbooks under the following brands will be available: Addison-Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Benjamin Cummings, Longman & Prentice Hall (Pearson); Wadsworth, Brooks/Cole, Course Technology, Delmar, Heinle, Schirmer, South-Western (Cengage); and Wiley Higher Education.

Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia will launch trial programs to make Kindle DX devices available to students this fall. The schools will distribute hundreds of Kindle DX devices to students spread across a broad range of academic disciplines. In addition to reading on a considerably larger screen, students will be able to take advantage of popular Kindle features such as the ability to take notes and highlight, search across their library, look up words in a built-in dictionary, and carry all of their books in a lightweight device.

“The Kindle DX holds enormous potential to influence the way students learn,” said Barbara R. Snyder, president of Case Western Reserve University. “We look forward to seeing how the device affects the participation of both students and faculty in the educational experience.”

New Built-In PDF Reader

Kindle DX features a built-in PDF reader using Adobe Reader Mobile technology for reading professional and personal documents. Like other types of documents on Kindle, customers simply email their PDF format documents to their Kindle email address or move them over using a USB connection. With a larger display and built-in PDF reader, Kindle DX customers can read professional and personal documents with more complex layouts without scrolling, panning, or zooming, and without re-flowing, which destroys the original structure of the document. Everything from annual reports with graphs to flight manuals with maps to musical scores can be viewed on a single, crisp screen with Kindle DX.

New Auto-Rotation

Kindle DX’s display content auto-rotates so users can read in portrait or landscape mode, or flip the device to read with either hand. Simply turn Kindle DX and immediately see full-width landscape views of maps, graphs, tables, images, and Web pages.

New 3.3 GB Memory Holds Up To 3,500 Books

With 3.3 GB of available memory, Kindle DX can hold up to 3,500 books, compared with 1,500 with Kindle. And because Amazon automatically backs up a copy of every Kindle book purchased, customers can wirelessly re-download titles from their library at any time.

Incredibly Thin

Kindle DX is just over a third of an inch thin, which is thinner than most magazines.

3G Wireless, No PC, No Hunting for Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX customers automatically take advantage of Amazon Whispernet to wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content in less than 60 seconds, and read from their library—all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing. Amazon still pays for the wireless connectivity on Kindle DX so books can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds—with no monthly fees, data plans, or service contracts.

Syncs With Kindle for iPhone and other Kindle Compatible Devices

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX uses Amazon Whispersync technology to automatically sync content across Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle for iPhone, and other devices in the future. With Whispersync, customers can easily move from device to device and never lose their place in their reading.

Massive Selection of Books—Plus Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

The Kindle Store currently offers more than 275,000 books, including popular books like New York Times Bestsellers, New Releases, and fiction and nonfiction released in the past several years. Dozens of newspapers and magazines are also available for subscription or single-edition purchase. BusinessWeek and The New England Journal of Medicine are available in the Kindle Store starting today, and The Economist will be available soon. Subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle overnight so that the latest edition is waiting for customers when they wake up. Over 1,500 blogs are available on Kindle and updated and downloaded wirelessly throughout the day.

Kindle DX includes all the other features Kindle customers enjoy every day, including:

Wirelessly send, receive, and read personal documents in a variety of formats such as Microsoft Word and PDF
Look up words instantly using the built-in 250,000 word New Oxford American Dictionary
Choose from six text sizes
Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights
Text-to-speech technology that converts words on a page to spoken word
Search Web, Wikipedia.org, Kindle Store, and your library of purchased content
No setup required—Kindle comes ready to use—no software to load or set up
Amazon Kindle is sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Bridgestone Develops Propietary Color E-paper Device with Pen-input Capability

2009-04-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

Bridgestone Corp developed a color electronic paper (e-paper) device that supports pen input. The device combines the "QR-LPD," the company's e-paper device using its proprietary electronic powder and granular material, with a color filter and Wacom Co Ltd's electromagnetic induction type pen input tablet.

To enable the pen input, Bridgestone accelerated the screen refresh speed of the e-paper device. It now takes only 0.8 seconds to refresh the screen, whereas the company's previous A4-size e-paper device needs 10 to 15 seconds.

Although the company did not reveal the details, it quickened the refresh speed primarily by improving drive technologies, it said. This enhanced the device's ability to follow the pen input and enabled it to display input texts and graphics smoothly.

This e-paper device features a passive matrix panel. Bridgestone exhibited the new color e-paper device at a trade show taking place in Tokyo.

First Color E-Book Reader Goes on Sale

2009-03-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Tokyo and Kawasaki, Japan, March 18, 2009 – Fujitsu Frontech Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories Limited today announced the start of consumer sales in Japan of the world’s first color e-paper mobile terminal, FLEPia, available for purchase from today through Fujitsu Frontech’s online store “FrontechDirect”. Developed by Fujitsu Frontech and Fujitsu Laboratories, FLEPia is the first ever mobile information terminal to feature color electronic paper (color e-paper). In addition to being lightweight and thin, the color e-paper mobile terminal features an easy-to-view 8-inch display screen capable of showing up to 260,000 colors in high-definition, in addition to being equipped with Bluetooth and high-speed wireless LAN. FLEPia is also power-efficient, enabling up to 40 hours of continuous battery operation when fully charged, and does not require power for continuous display of a screen image, consuming power only during re-draw. Featuring significant storage capabilities, when used with a 4GB SD card, the color e-paper terminal can store the equivalent of 5,000 conventional paper-based books when each book is 300 pages long at 600KB per book, thus being environmentally friendly.　In Japan, FLEPia can now be easily ordered from Fujitsu Frontech’s online store. As an additional option, through Fujitsu Frontech’s dedicated website, FLEPia users can purchase e-books from the largest e-book online retailer in Japan and download the e-books directly into FLEPia. As the only color e-paper mobile terminal commercially available, FLEPia offers a convenient, paper-free and eco-conscious enriched innovative mobile reading experience to users.

Background
Fujitsu Frontech and Fujitsu Laboratories co-developed proprietary color e-paper, and announced the launch of FLEPia in April 2007 as the world’s first color e-paper mobile terminal. Previously, commercial samples of FLEPia were available for purchase on a limited basis for corporate use only, as part of field trials of the first ever color e-paper mobile terminal. Compared to the FLEPia commercial samples which were used in field marketing, the latest FLEPia offers 1.5 times higher brightness and greater contrast, enabled through optimization of the color e-paper’s optical properties. Re-draw speed was also enhanced by 1.7 times. In addition to previously available high-speed wireless LAN, FLEPia is equipped with Bluetooth, enabling users to easily download and access various content from nearly any desired location.

Key Features
1. Lightweight, thin and high-performance: 8-inch screen displays up to 260,000 colors in high-definition
Weighing just 385 grams (385g) and only 12.5mm thick, FLEPia is lightweight and easily portable, while offering an easy-to-view 8-inch screen. Featuring world-leading color e-paper technologies, the mobile display terminal enables users to view a multitude of documents and images in high-definition at 768 dots x 1,014 dots (XGA), with up to 260,000 displayable colors (4,096-color and 64-color display is also possible, if desired).
2. Power-efficient color e-paper; enables up to 40-hour continuous battery operation
As the color e-paper employed displays text or images by reflecting external light, FLEPia does not require power to maintain screen display, consuming power only during re-draw (power consumption is approximately just 1/50 that of standard notebook PCs under similar usage conditions). When fully-charged, FLEPia offers up to 40 hours of continuous battery operation (conditions: display of 2,400 pages at 1 page per minute with 64 colors).
3. Feature-rich external interface (Japan: Bluetooth, high-speed wireless LAN)
Equipped with Bluetooth in addition to high-speed wireless LAN, FLEPia offers dial-up connection via various Japanese mobile carriers, thus enabling easy download of content featuring images and text (excluding audio and video content) from nearly any desired location. Also included as standard features are a USB mini-B connector supporting USB2.0 (480Mbps) and a SD memory card slot. Stereo speakers (embedded) offer audio playback of e-books, including picture books.
4. User-friendly operation: touch screen, digital stylus, scroll key, function buttons
A touch screen featured on the 8-inch display screen, along with a digital pen, enables easy operation of FLEPia. Also included are a scroll key and 6 function buttons, enabling users to freely and quickly implement commands on the screen in all 4 directions (up, down, left, right), as desired.
5. Two e-book viewers included as standard features (XMDF and .book formats)
Two popular e-book viewers widely used on PCs or mobile phones in Japan - “BunkoViewer” (XMDF format; “bunko” refers to “library” in Japanese) and “T-Time” (.book format) are included as standard features. These e-book viewers enable downloaded e-books to be easily read with FLEPia. The e-book viewers offer an enriched reading experience compared to conventional paper-based reading, enabling readers to jump from the table of contents to desired sections and freely enlarge or shrink text or images. A vast number of e-book sites are currently available on the Internet, and a wide range of approximately 20,000 Japanese e-books in either XMDF or .book format can be downloaded with FLEPia (see “Content Storage Capacity” under Specifications).
6. Equipped with Windows CE5.0 (Japanese version)
In addition to the content browser, Microsoft’s Windows CE5.0 (Japanese version) enables use of an internet browser, e-mail, and various software on FLEPia. Microsoft’s Office can also be used to generate text documents, spreadsheets, or presentations, making it possible to view a variety of documents - including e-mail file attachments - while in transit or in the field and away from an office environment, thus fully maximizing FLEPia’s multiple functions as a mobile information terminal. In terms of text input, a software keyboard and digital stylus make it possible to send e-mails and other text.

Dedicated customer-support website offers technical support, maintenance, software upgrades (Japan)
Fujitsu Frontech will offer a dedicated customer-support site, FLEPia World, on its Japanese website. FLEPia World will offer product information to potential customers considering purchase of FLEPia, in addition to technical and maintenance support to FLEPia users. Software upgrades will be offered free-of-charge.
Furthermore, customers will have the option of purchasing e-books through the FLEPia World website via Japan’s largest e-book online retailer - offered through a collaboration between the retailer PAPYLESS CO.,Ltd. and Fujitsu Frontech - and downloading the e-books directly onto FLEPia.

Pricing, Options, and Shipment

Product		FrontechDirect on-line purchase price** (Japan)	Availability (Japan)
FLEPia unit set* (White or Black)		99,750 JPY	From April 20, 2009
Options (sold separately)	Book cover (White or Black)	5,800 JPY	From April 20, 2009
Options (sold separately)	Storage case (White or Black)	5,500 JPY	From April 20, 2009

*Set includes USB cable (mini-B connector), AC adaptor, stand, wrist strap

**Prices include 5% consumption tax

Sales Target (Japan)

50,000 units by the end of 2010

Specifications

Dimensions, Weight	158mm (Width) × 240mm (Height) × 12.5mm (Depth. Thinnest section: 11.3mm) , Weight: 385g
Screen Size	8-inch (123.6mm x 164.8mm)
Unit Colors	White or Black
Resolution	768 dots x 1024 dots (XGA)
Number of Displayable Colors	260,000 colors (3 Scans); 4,096 (2 Scans); 64 colors (1 Scan)
Re-Draw Speed	1.8 seconds (1 Scan), 5 seconds (2 Scans), 8 seconds (3 Scans)
Wireless LAN (embedded)	IEEE802.11b/g（11/54Mbps *¹）
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Ver2.0+EDR
Memory	SD Memory Card*² (Maximum up to 4GB)
USB Connector	USB2.0 (480Mbps) mini-B connector × 1
Audio	Stereo speakers (embedded), headphone connector x 1
Power Supply	Lithium polymer battery (embedded), AC adaptor Fully-charged continuous operation： 40 continuous hours (Conditions: Display of 2,400 pages/at 1 minute per page/with 64 colors)
Content Storage Capacity (when used with a 4GB SD card)	Equivalent to 5,000 paper-based books when each book is 300 pages long with 600KB per book
Security	128Bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
Software	FLEPia application, Japanese version Microsoft Windows CE5.0, Japanese e-book viewers: BunkoViewer (XMDF), T-Time (.book)
CPU (embedded)	XScale RISC CPU
Environmental Operating Conditions	Operation: Temperature range: 5 to 35 degrees Celsius, Humidity: 20 to 80% RH Storage: Temperature range: - 10 to 50 degrees Celsius, Humidity: 20 to 80% RH

*¹ Figure indicates theoretical maximum transmission rate for standard

wireless LAN; does not indicate actual data transmission speed.

Fujitsu Explores Color E-newspaper Potential at Restaurants

2009-02-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

Fujitsu Ltd and Fujitsu Frontech Ltd will conduct a verification test of a mobile information terminal that uses color electronic paper with SoftBank Telecom Corp and Mainichi Newspapers Co Ltd.

Customers of "Termina Kinshicho Fujiya Restaurant" can pick up the terminals equipped with a color electronic paper module on the tables and browse newspapers and advertisements wirelessly sent to the terminals. The four companies will verify whether the electronic paper module can be accepted as a terminal for reading newspapers and other content, and whether the service can promote sales and boost customer satisfaction.

The test is scheduled for Feb 4 to 13, 2009, using Fujitsu Frontech's "FLEPia," a mobile information terminal incorporating color electronic paper. The companies installed four units of the FLEPia so that the restaurant customers can use them for free.

The content delivered to the terminals includes "Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun" (Mainichi Newspaper for Elementary School Students), advertisements for Fujiya Restaurant and the "Termina" shopping mall, timetables of JR (Japan Railways) trains and weather forecasts.

Users can read the newspapers by operating the terminal while waiting for their orders, or enjoy viewing the advertisements and timetables that are automatically switched to a different screen every several minutes when the terminal is not being operated, such as when the users are eating.

This system uses the "BB Mobile Point" wireless LAN service to deliver the content and to regularly update the content being displayed on the FLEPia.

The electronic paper modules use electricity only when they switch the displayed information. As they don't need to be charged during business hours, there is no need to provide electricity to the table. LCD panel-based terminals, which have been used on tables, require an electrical supply at the table.

Via Tech On

Android on E-ink device: proof of concept

2009-02-14T05:14:00.000-08:00

MOTO Development Group’s releases video “Android Meets E Ink” explaining and demonstrating their integration of Google’s Android operating system with an E Ink electronic paper device broadsheet kit.

Google developed Android explicitly to run on cell phones, but it is robust enough to run on other devices. Because Android is open source, and supported by a robust development community, it is a candidate to grow beyond its mobile device roots. MOTO Labs developed a custom USB driver to bring Google’s Android OS to the E Ink development kit.

The E Ink broadsheet development kit is connected to Beagle Board via USB. E Ink is an electronic paper display technology with a paper-like, high contrast appearance, ultra low-power consumption, and a thin, light form. It is “bi-stable” - meaning it only uses power when it refreshes the screen. The advantages of this kind of low-power screen device updated via wireless internet access could bring this connected technology to wearable computing or other screen uses that demand long-term deployment before recharging. Now a new world of creative developers can extend the functionality of and write applications for this low-power screen technology.

MOTO labs is working towards customized solutions that employ not only Android but Ubuntu, Linux, and Adobe AIR platforms for custom web-connected application development. We are actively extending our multi-touch and gestural interfaces expertise to these platforms. MOTO is also developing prototypes for better remote management of connected devices with a range of approaches from Mac & PC based device management applications to over-the- air wireless firmware and software updates. Stay tuned to labs.moto.com for more on this thread.

Google developed Android explicitly to run on cell phones, but it is robust enough to run on other devices. Because Android is open source, and supported by a robust development community, it is a candidate to grow beyond its mobile device roots.

The development of a USB driver brings Android operating system to the E Ink development kit. Now a new world of creative developers can extend the functionality of and write applications for this low-power screen technology.

Android Meets E Ink from MOTO Development Group on Vimeo.

Why E Ink?
E Ink is an electronic paper display technology with a paper-like, high contrast appearance, ultra low-power consumption, and a thin, light form. It is “bi-stable” - meaning it only uses power when it refreshes the screen. The advantages of this kind of low-power screen device updated via wireless internet access could bring this connected technology to wearable computing or other screen uses that demand long-term deployment before recharging.

Digging Deeper
MOTO labs is working towards customized solutions that employ not only Android but Ubuntu, Linux, and Adobe AIR platforms for custom web-connected application development. We are actively extending our multi-touch and gestural interfaces expertise to these platforms. MOTO is also developing prototypes for better remote management of connected devices with a range of approaches from Mac & PC based device management applications to over-the-air wireless firmware and software updates. Stay tuned to labs.moto.com for more on this thread.

Building a Bridge
Picture below shows how the E Ink broadsheet development kit is connected to Beagle Board via USB. A custom E Ink driver acts as the bridge.
The E Ink screen image shows the signature Android clock-scape.

Components
A diagrammatic view on how the application processor (Beagle Board) connects up to the display co-processor (E Ink Broadsheet) via USB.

Ideas for next generation connected devices? Email collaborate@labs.moto.com or leave a comment here.

Links
TI Beagle Board development kit
E Ink development kit

Amazon Kindle 2

2009-02-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2009-- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today introduced Amazon Kindle 2, the new reading device that offers Kindle’s revolutionary wireless delivery of content in a new slim design with longer battery life, faster page turns, over seven times more storage, sharper images, and a new read-to-me feature. Kindle 2 is purpose-built for reading with a high-resolution 6-inch electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper, which lets users read for hours without the eyestrain caused by reading on a backlit display. More than 230,000 books are now available in the Kindle Store, including 103 of 110 current New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases, which are typically $9.99. Top U.S. and international magazines and newspapers plus more than 1,200 different blogs are also available. Kindle 2 is available for pre-order starting today for $359 at http://amazon.com/kindle2 and will ship February 24.

“Kindle 2 is everything customers tell us they love about the original Kindle, only thinner, faster, crisper, with longer battery life, and capable of holding hundreds more books. If you want, Kindle 2 will even read to you — something new we added that a book could never do,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “While we’re excited about Kindle 2, we know that great hardware is useless without vast selection. That’s why the Kindle Store offers customers over 230,000 books.”

New Slim and Sleek Design

The new Kindle 2 features a completely new design. At just over a third of an inch thin (0.36 inches) and weighing just over 10 ounces, Kindle 2 is pencil thin and lighter than a typical paperback. New buttons make it easy to turn the page from any holding position. The new 5-way controller on Kindle 2 allows for more precise note-taking and highlighting both up and down and side to side in lines of text. The new controller also makes it easy to quickly jump between articles and sections of newspapers. Kindle 2 comes with a redesigned power charger that is more portable than the previous Kindle charger. The official Amazon.com cover for Kindle 2, which is sold separately, has an integrated attachment hinge to ensure a secure fit and features a leather cover for style and durability. Patagonia, Cole Haan and Belkin also designed covers for Kindle 2 that are available in the Kindle Store.

New Crisper, Faster Display

Kindle 2’s 6-inch, 600 x 800 electronic paper display provides 16 shades of gray versus 4 shades available in the original Kindle, resulting in crisp text, and sharper images and photos. Kindle reads like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn’t use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays. With the latest electronic paper display, pages turn an average of 20 percent faster than the original Kindle for an even smoother reading experience.

New 2 GB Memory Holds Over 1,500 Books

With 2 GB of memory, Kindle 2 can hold more than 1,500 books, compared with 200 with the original Kindle. And because Amazon automatically backs up a copy of every Kindle book purchased, customers can wirelessly re-download titles in their library at any time.

25% Longer Battery Life

Kindle 2 customers can read for four to five days on one charge with wireless on and for over two weeks with wireless turned off.

New Instant Dictionary Lookup

Kindle 2 comes with the New Oxford American Dictionary and its 250,000 word definitions built-in, and with Kindle 2 definitions appear instantly at the bottom of the page.

New Experimental Read-To-Me Feature

Kindle 2 offers the experimental read-to-me feature “Text-to-Speech” that converts words on a page to spoken word so customers have the option to read or listen. Customers can switch back and forth between reading and listening, and their spot is automatically saved. Pages turn automatically while the content is being read so customers can listen hands-free. Customers can choose to be read to by male or female voices and can choose the speed to suit their listening preference. Using the read-to-me feature, anything you can read on Kindle, including books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and personal documents, Kindle 2 can read to you.

Still Wireless, Still No PC, Still No Hunting for Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Kindle 2 uses the same wireless delivery system as the original Kindle — Amazon Whispernet. Customers can wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content in less than 60 seconds, and read from their library — all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing. Whispernet utilizes Amazon’s optimized technology plus Sprint’s national 3G data network and is expanded to cover all 50 U.S. states. Amazon still pays for the wireless connectivity on Kindle 2 so books can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds — with no monthly wireless bills, data plans, or service commitments.

Automatically Syncs With Original Kindle, Kindle 2, and future devices

Amazon’s new “Whispersync” technology automatically syncs Kindle 2 and the original Kindle, which makes transitioning to the new Kindle 2 or using both devices easy for customers. Kindle 2 will also sync with a range of mobile devices in the future.

Earth’s Biggest E-book Store Keeps Expanding, Plus New Stephen King Exclusive

The Kindle Store currently offers more than 230,000 books — up from 90,000 when Kindle launched. Books from numerous popular authors have been added since the original Kindle launched, includingJohn Steinbeck, C.S. Lewis, Beverly Cleary, Martha Stewart, Terry Goodkind, and Spencer Johnson.

Author Stephen King announced today that he is releasing a novella, “Ur,” which will only be available on Kindle. At the center of Ur is lovelorn college English instructor Wesley Smith, who can't seem to get his ex-girlfriend's parting shot out of his head: "Why can't you just read off the computer like the rest of us?" Egged on by her question and piqued by a student's suggestion, Wesley places an order for a Kindle. Smith’s Kindle arrives in a box stamped with the smile logo and unlocks a literary world that even the most avid of book lovers could never imagine. But once the door is open, there are those things that one hopes we'll never read or live through. Ur is available for pre-order beginning today and will be released later this month. For Kindle customers who pre-order, King’s new novella will download automatically when it becomes available.

The Kindle Store now includes many additional magazines and newspapers, such as The New Yorker, which is available for the first time on Kindle starting today. Magazines and newspaper subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle overnight so that the latest edition is waiting for customers when they wake up. Monthly Kindle newspaper subscriptions are $5.99 to $14.99 per month, and Kindle magazines are $1.25 to $3.49 per month.

Over 1,200 blogs are available on Kindle today — up from 250 when Kindle launched. New blogs added to the Kindle Store recently include the Wired blogs, VF Daily and James Wolcott’s Blog fromVanity Fair. Blogs are updated and downloaded wirelessly throughout the day so Kindle customers can read blogs whenever and wherever they want. Wireless delivery of blogs costs as little as $0.99each per month and includes a free two-week trial.

Same Popular Kindle Features

Kindle 2 includes all the features Kindle customers enjoy every day, including:

Choose from six text sizes
Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights
Read personal documents such as Microsoft Word and PDF, and view images, all delivered wirelessly
Search Web, Wikipedia.org, Kindle Store, and Your Kindle Library where customers’ purchased content is stored
No setup required — Kindle comes ready to use — no software to load or set up

Kindle is available for pre-order starting today for $359 at http://amazon.com/kindle2 and will ship on February 24. Customers who are currently in line for the original Kindle will receive an automatic upgrade to the new Kindle 2.

E-paper that enables large screen displays with multi-tiling

2008-11-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

NEC LCD Technologies has successfully developed A3 and A4 sized electronic paper using the microcapsule electrophoretic system.

Developed by E Ink Corporation (USA), the electrophoretics system contains white pigment particles electrified with positive electrodes, and black pigment particles electrified with negative electrodes. Each pigment particle is contained in a clear microcapsule that is moved by applying voltage, which thereby creates a visible display. The prototype uses E Ink's "Vizplex Imaging Film."

The new e-paper modules leverage NEC LCD Technologies and advancements with TFT active matrix to secure 16 step grayscale, white reflectivity of 43% and a contrast ratio of 10:1 - giving higher visibility and gradation when compared to general newspapers.

By combining up to eight modules, which incorporate the company's original multi-tiling controller, the e-paper modules can be used to form large screen displays. The A3 e-paper module is composed of especially narrow frames, with two sides measuring just 1mm, which enables the creation of large screens that feature effective multi-tiling.

The displays reduce strain on the eyes by utilizing reflected light and paper which enables wide viewing angles and high visibility under direct sunlight. Power is kept to a minimum by using reduced electricity when displaying information and only a limited amount of energy is required to perform screen rewriting.

The A3 and A4 modules have drawn particular attention due to consumer's existing daily use of similarly sized paper - the slim light-weight design makes it an ideal portable electronic device for the avid newspaper reader and business manager.

The company say they will continue to promote the research and development of e-paper modules and will aim for large-scale production of new applications that address a wide range of uses spanning many different fields.

Samsung Exhibits Bend-resistant Flexible E-paper

2008-11-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd exhibited a flexible color electronic paper display that uses carbon nanotubes (CNT) for the common electrodes at FPD International 2008.

The 14.3-inch display is 0.3mm thick and has a resolution of 1060 x 750.

The company employed CNT to prevent the performance degradation of the electrodes after the flexible e-paper is repeatedly bent. The resistance of existing transparent electrodes made of IZO and other materials increases after the display is repeatedly bent. On the other hand, the resistance of the CNT-based transparent electrodes "hardly increases even after the display is bent 100 times," a Samsung staffer said.

The CNT transparent electrode, which was developed based on Unidym Inc's technology, has a transmittance of 90% or higher and a conductivity of 1,700S/cm, according to the company.

For the drive circuit, Samsung used an amorphous Si TFT that was formed on a plastic substrate by utilizing a low temperature growth process below 130°C. The company combined the drive circuit with E Ink Corp's e-paper film.

The display has a reflectivity of 40%, a contrast ratio of 10:1 and a color gamut of 5% NTSC.

Sharp showcases memory LCDs to compete with e-paper

2008-11-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

Sharp is apparently looking to take a slice out of the dawning e-paper market by showcasing LCD displays that can keep their last shown images even when power is disconnected from them.

These memory type LCD panels were displayed at the FPD International 2008 and featured both 8-color and monochrome panels. The panels ranged in size from 1.7-inches to 14.1-inches and were said to use a cholosteric LCD material in order to pull off the memory function. Sharp, however, was silent on further specifications on how these LCD panels worked, but did remark that the power needed in order to imprint the data on the LCD panels was, “relatively large.”

Sharp explained that these memory LCD displays could be used for inventory tags, restaurant menus, and public signage, according to reports. In fact, Sharp is testing 2.4-inch and 1.7-inch monochrome LCDs in supermarkets in Osaka, Japan to display prices on products.

Additionally, Sharp did comment that these memory LCD displays are limited to indoor use only due to operational issues in hot or cold environments. It was also mentioned these new LCD panels with memory will be initially more expensive than standard LCD panels due to additional materials used in the manufacturing process.

Read more at Tech On! via SlashGear.

Hanvon Introduces World's First Five-Inch Electronic Book using Electrophoretic Technology

2008-11-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

BEIJING, Nov 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hanvon the leader in handwriting recognition products is pleased to announce the introduction of the world's first 5" Electronic Book series, based on the revolutionary E Ink Vizplex Display. This pioneering effort combines the best of electromagnetic pen input and electronic paper display into an ultra portable electronic book aimed as mass markets.
Hanvon's electronic book development team reports that the N510 consumes very little power, has a paper like appearance, offers 180 degrees viewing and is only 11mm thick. The Hanvon N510 Supports TXT, HTML, PNG, JPG, PDF, XEB, CEB, MP3, MTXT formats on its 167 PPI, SVGA (800 x 600 pixels) electronic paper display. The eBook also features a 1GB SD card and a mini USB port.
"The Hanvon N510 allows you to carry an entire library in your pocket," said Mr. Wang Bangjiang, General Manager for Hanvon. "We are honored and proud that our eBook was used in space during the historic Shenzhou-7 space mission this month. This speaks volumes about the quality of our N510 eBook."
Designed for outdoor use, the N510 features a sunlight readable electronic paper display in a rugged yet slim package. The high definition display not only has a paper like appearance, it has no EMI generating backlight/inverter making it ideally suited for hours of reading.
The Hanvon E-book series is designed to allow the user to not only read books but also input notes, edit and even paint electronically using Hanvon's advanced digital input technologies. The device also features audio listening capability with MP3 support.
Priced at about 2000RMB ($295 approx), the Hanvon N510 is aimed at users that want the flexibility and convenience of having hundreds of books and documents at their finger tips, at a reasonable price. Finally, the Hanvon N510 eBook is an environmentally responsible alternative to ordinary paper.
About Hanwang:
Hanwang Technology Co. Ltd., founded in 1998, is a leader in the fields of research, development, and manufacture of diverse intelligent pattern recognition technologies and products. We are headquartered in Beijing, China, and have about 500 employees, housed in a 23,000-square meter building. Following our strategy of globalization, we have set up a competitive system that is made up of our efficient design and research network, purchasing network, manufacturing network, sales and service network. Today, Hanwang owns one manufacturing campus, four advanced design centers, and over 5800 sales channels across the country.
SOURCE: Hanwang Technology Co. Ltd.

NEC Develops E-Paper That Enables Large Displays with Multi-Tiling

2008-11-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

NEC LCD Technologies has developed multiple sizes (A3 and A4 equivalent) of electronic paper (e-paper) modules using the microcapsule electrophoresis system.

Developed by E Ink Corp (USA), the electrophoresis system contains white pigment particles electrified with positive electrodes, and black pigment particles electrified with negative electrodes. Each pigment particle is contained in a clear microcapsule that is moved by applying voltage, which thereby creates a visible display. The prototype uses E Ink's Vizplex Imaging Film.

The e-paper modules are said to boast higher visibility and gradation when compared to general newspapers, and leverage NEC LCD Technologies' experience and proprietary advancements with TFT active matrix to secure 16 step grayscale, white reflectivity of 43% and a contrast ratio of 10:1.

Additionally, e-paper modules can be used to form large screen displays by combining up to eight modules, which incorporate the company's original multi-tiling controller. The A3 e-paper module is composed of especially narrow frames, with two sides measuring just 1mm, which enables the creation of large screens that feature effective multi-tiling.

E-paper's display utilizes reflected light and paper to produce wide viewing angles, provide high visibility under direct sunlight and reduce strain on the eyes of viewers. Moreover, e-paper minimizes electricity needs by maintaining display information without using power, and requires only low power to perform screen rewriting. The slim profile and light weight of the e-paper modules makes them suitable for portable equipment.

New display from E-ink: more flexbile than ever

2008-10-09T05:38:00.000-07:00

Ecnmag.com - October 08, 2008
E Ink announced general availability of its next-generation segmented display cells (SDC). The products are simple digit, icon and alpha-numeric displays, offering desirable readability in a paper-thin form factor that uses minimal battery power. The company asserts the new SDCs are 40 percent thinner with a wider operational temperature range and increased flexibility for repetitive 3-D bends or 2-D conformable solutions. Applications include consumer electronics, PC-accessory, display smartcards, capacity indicators, electronic shelf labels, signage and communications applications. The SDC displays use the same E Ink Vizplex technology that is shipping in popular electronic book devices. Three height levels are available, depending on backplane configuration: thin PET 330µ, PET 380µ or PI 375µ. PET options provide 200 µ design rules for the art work or space and trace of 8 mils by 8 mils. The finer pitch PI option uses 100µ design rules for 4 mils by 4 mils. Increased temperature ranges with operations from -10°C to 60°C, and storage from –25°C to 75°C. Organic non-rectangular unique shapes are possible, including holes, curves, and other non-standard designs.

E Ink
627-499-6000, www.eink.com

Esquire to launch eink cover magazine on september

2008-07-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

Newsstands across America will come to life this September when men's magazine Esquire rolls out the first magazine cover ever to use E-ink. That's the same core technology behind Amazon's e-reader the Kindle, Esquire's cover will flash "The 21st Century Begins Now" and the inside page will feature an E-ink ad by Ford who is sponsoring the effort.

The E-ink displays will be powered by a small battery that was designed in China for Esquire and reportedly cost six-figures to develop. To preserve battery life the covers will be refrigerated en route, and should power the E-ink for about 90 days. After that, your cover is done.

The E-ink technology is developed by a Massachusetts company of the same name.

e-ink-paper-display.jpgBut, Esquire editor, David Granger, is hoping to have at least one copy preserved for posterity. Discussing Esquire's current cover exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Granger told The New York Times he hopes the E-ink cover will end up in the Smithsonian one day as the first of its kind.

This development should be very cool to see, but don't expect the technology to become widespread any time soon: Esquire has penned an exclusive deal with E-ink to use the technology in print until 2009. Esquire says only 100,000 out of a circulation of 720,000 will get the E-ink cover.

E-ink: a newspaper verification test will start by the end of 2008

2008-06-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ryosuke Kuwata, E Ink Corp's vice president in charge of the Asia Pacific region, who is conducting market development for the company, revealed the worldwide advancement of the electronic newspaper project that newspaper companies are pursuing. (interviewer: Takuya Otani).

Q: What fields is E Ink currently focusing on as new applications of electronic paper following electronic books?

Kuwata: I think newspaper is the field that we are focusing on. I mean electronic newspapers that use electronic paper. Newspaper companies have made significant moves over the past year.

In fact, we have already been in touch with most of the major newspaper companies in Japan. We are likely to focus on the application for electronic newspaper for a while, reinforcing our support and other services.

Off course, Japanese newspaper companies are not the only ones that are making moves. First of all, US newspaper companies began to address electronic newspapers earlier than Japanese counterparts, as you know.

Hearst Corp, for example, is advancing specific discussion on electronic newspapers. Although it is not well-known, Hearst is investing quite a bit in E Ink. I guess that is because Hearst is also focusing on the electronic newspaper business.

I think it's more accurate to say that such moves in the US have recently traveled to newspaper companies in Japan and Europe. In Europe, for example, companies including Le Monde of France have just began to move.

Q: When are electronic newspapers likely to emerge in the market? And what terminals and services will they be like?

Kuwata: At the current moment, the newspaper company that is furthest ahead is expected to start a verification test using several thousands of terminals by the end of 2008. After the test, the company will gradually shift to a specific business in the second half of 2009, I expect.

As for the form of terminals and services, each newspaper company is considering it in accordance with its own policy. Hearst, for example, is attempting not only to supply content but also to develop its own terminal in house.

European newspaper companies, on the other hand, seem to be considering using existing terminals or contracting them out to OEM suppliers, based on their strong intention to focus on supplying content. Attitudes vary at each company.

Published at Nikkeibp

Orange to pilot world's first e-newspaper

2008-05-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

The world's first entirely electronic newspapers will go on trial in France next week, offering not only morning headlines but automatic updates every hour throughout the day.

The touch-screen, A5-sized, device uses "ePaper" and "eInk" technology to make it as much like reading normal newsprint as possible. It includes both WiFi and a 3G mobile chip so news can be refreshed every hour during the day, even on the move.

There are already electronic books on the market, notably Amazon's Kindle, which was launched last year but is yet to make it to non-US markets. But Orange's Read&Go is specifically designed to give the same impression as reading a traditional newspaper, including using display technology that paralyses bubbles of ink and is not, like a laptop screen, unreadable in bright sunlight.

The pilot scheme, in partnership with five French newspapers including Le Monde and Les Echos, will run until mid-summer, and could pave the way for a commercial service within a few years.

A key testing ground is the technology itself – including how it stands up to rolling updates from five major content providers and how easy the device is to use.

Orange has also already launched a worldwide call for next-generation flexible electronic paper technology with a view to replacing the rigid tablet being used in the pilot scheme with a more user-friendly format that could potentially be rolled up when not in use.

There are also major questions for the newspapers to answer about how the content is organised compared with a printed paper, and how stories are best laid out or divided according to what works in a smaller, digital format. But Orange insists the device will replicate the printed paper, rather than simply providing mobile access to the paper's online news website.

The business model for a commercial scheme is also under review – including the possibility of a subscription to one or more specific newspapers, or a pay-on-demand account.

But it is the advertising potential that is likely to grab media groups' attention. Printed newspaper circulations have been hard hit by the rise of internet news sites, with ad revenues falling in parallel. And despite considerable investment in websites allied to the national papers, the business model is yet to show a profit. Not only could a successful electronic newspaper device reinvigorate the sector's revenues but it could also open the door to more innovative advertising including interactive or location-sensitive marketing – some of which will be tested by Orange as part of this summer's trial.

Nicki Lyons, an analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: "Anything that makes content easier to consume will have a significant impact. Newspapers have been quite innovative with the development of content online – they are streets ahead of television companies. There will be a tipping point where that investment starts to pay off."

E-ink annouces next generation segmented display cells

2008-05-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

E Ink(R) Corporation, the leading developer and marketer of electronic paper display technology, today announced general availability of its next generation segmented display cells (SDC). The SDC products are simple digit, icon and alpha-numeric displays, offering exceptional readability in a paper-thin form factor that uses minimal
battery power. The new SDCs are 40% thinner with a wider operational temperature range and increased flexibility for repetitive 3-D bends or 2-D conformable solutions. Applications include consumer electronics, PC-accessory, display smartcards, capacity indicators, electronic shelf labels, signage and communications applications. The SDC displays use the same E Ink Vizplex(TM) technology that is shipping in popular electronic book devices such as the Amazon Kindle, SONY Reader and iRex iLiad.

"When you need information to make a decision, an E Ink SDC display lets you see it quickly and clearly from any angle," said Russ Wilcox, President and CEO, E Ink Corporation. "With a paper-thin and flexible plastic display that can be cut to any shape, innovative product designs are limited only by the imagination of the designers."

"After an extensive review of display technologies, Delphi chose E Ink's segmented electronic paper displays for our wireless, bi-directional key fob that has been designed to offer car-to-user and user-to-car communication over an extremely long range," said Joe DiCarlo, Director of Engineering for Controls and Security in North America, Delphi. "The groundbreaking fob offers packaging flexibility and does not consume much power. Because it provides drivers valuable vehicle information and control, it is imperative that its display can be read in bright sunlight. Thanks to E Ink, that is possible."

"E Ink has enabled us to offer superior display solutions to the world's leading producers of smart cards for bank card and OTC token applications" said George Ou, CEO of Smart Displayer. "E Ink's displays are flexible, extremely thin, sunlight readable and consume very little power."

High Performance Rugged Displays

Thinner, more flexible and wider operation ranges all highlight the performance increase of the latest generation of E Ink SDCs. Three height levels are available, depending on backplane configuration: thin PET 330 microns, PET 380 microns, or PI 375 microns. PET options provide 200 micron design rules for the art work or space and trace of 8 mils by 8 mils. The finer pitch PI option uses 100 micron design rules for 4 mils by 4 mils. Increased temperature ranges with operations from -10(degree)C to 60(degree)C, and storage from -25(degree)C to 75(degree)C.

Think Outside the Rectangle

Organic non-rectangular unique shapes are possible, including holes, curves, and other non-standard designs. Additionally, E Ink's SDC platform provides viewable angle of nearly 180(degree) and can be viewed under a variety of lighting conditions from direct sun to low-level ambient light. E Ink's Vizplex based electronic paper solutions are bistable, reflective displays which enable the image to remain for over a year with zero power.

Custom Design to Mass Production

Custom rapid product development is easy with E Ink's SDC "Design to Mass Production" program. Starting from a customer-supplied CAD file, E Ink typically can supply production-ready samples within eight weeks after artwork approval and enter mass production within twelve weeks. E Ink has partnered with several chip suppliers, including Dialog Semiconductor, Epson Semiconductor, Solomon-Systech, and Citizen who have developed compatible segmented display driver ICs.

Standard SDC Products

E Ink is now offering six standard SDC designs for fast prototyping and application specific solutions. Standard parts include stacked 10-bar, graduated 5-bar, 100%, MB/GB, 8-digit and 6-digit SDCs.

About E Ink Corporation

E Ink Corporation is the world's leading supplier of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies. E Ink's technology is ideal for many consumer and industrial applications spanning handheld devices, eBooks, PC-accessories, watches, clocks, and public information displays and promotional signs. E Ink is a private corporation that includes among its investors and strategic partners TOPPAN Printing Company, The Hearst Corporation, Intel Capital, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., and Motorola, Inc. E Ink news can be found at: www.eink.com.

Worldwide ART Technology, Funkwerk Information Technologies Karlsfeld (FITK) GmbH, Lexar Media, Motorola, Qwizdom, Seiko-Epson, Smart Displayer, and UPM have shipped products powered by E Ink's segmented ePaper technology.

Thinner, wider operational temp range, rugged ePaper SDCs enable
displays to go where none have gone before

New Chip from Epson promises new capabilities for e-ink displays

2008-04-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Epson and its subsidiary, Epson Electronics America, have joined hands with E Ink, a developer of Electronic Paper Display (EPD) technology, to jointly develop display controller IC. This new controller has been designed to bring new capabilities for E Ink's Vizplex-enabled electronic paper displays.

EPD low-power consumption screen technology is driving new mobile applications like eBooks, eNewspapers, tablet PCs, laptop secondary displays, eNotebooks, and eDictionaries.

The new EPD controller IC (part number S1D13521B) combines technologies from both Epson and E Ink. It will be offered in production quantities by Epson and as part of E Ink's upcoming AM300 Broadsheet prototype kit.

It promises to speed up the user interface of EPDs via better navigation, drop down/popup menus, responsive cursors, and real-time keyboard entry. The controller enables the display to perform up to 16 tasks in parallel, and supports pen input devices for annotations and sketches.

E Ink claims future devices using this chip could offer a fast menu interface, simple animations, higher grayscale levels, and user input through typing and touch.

Samples of the Epson S1D13521B will be available in May 2008. Production quantities will be available in August 2008. Sample price is US $18.

E-Ink is also offering a Broadsheet AM300 prototype kit for engineers to develop next generation ePaper products. Compatible with different sizes of active matrix displays, it allows users to create functional, low profile product mock-ups.

The AM300 will be shipping in June. It can be pre-ordered at E Ink's website.

Via CXOtoday Staff

Epson and E Ink Announce Breakthrough Controller IC for Electronic Paper Displays

2008-04-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

New chip enables faster navigation, multi-tasking, and real-time pen/keyboard input.

Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson"), a global supplier of semiconductor solutions, its subsidiary Epson Electronics America Inc., and E Ink Corporation, the leading developer and marketer of electronic paper display (EPD) technology, today announced a jointly developed display controller IC enabling new capabilities for E Ink’s Vizplex enabled electronic paper displays. EPD low-power consumption screen technology is driving an emerging class of new mobile applications, such as eBooks, eNewspapers, tablet PCs, laptop secondary displays, eNotebooks, and eDictionaries.

The new EPD controller IC (part number S1D13521B) was developed by combining technologies from both Epson and E Ink. It will be offered in production quantities by Epson and as part of E Ink’s upcoming AM300 Broadsheet prototype kit.

The Epson display controller will bring greater functionality to EPDs using E Ink technology by speeding up the user interface via seamless navigation, drop down/popup menus, responsive cursors and real-time keyboard entry. The controller enables the display to perform up to 16 tasks in parallel, and supports smooth and responsive pen input devices for annotations and sketches.

"Epson developed the powerful S1D13521 with E Ink to support new ePaper applications such as electronic newspapers, portable web browsers and industrial tablets" said Russ Wilcox, President and CEO of E Ink. "With the ability to address many screen regions simultaneously, future devices using this chip could offer a fast menu interface, simple animations, higher grayscale levels, and user input through typing and touch"

"Epson has, for many years, been offering various display controllers to the market. With this new controller IC, we are very excited to develop the emerging EPD display market together with E Ink. This new product development reflects our shared commitment to developing electronic solutions that help to conserve energy and natural resources and are friendly to the environment" said Ryuhei Miyagawa, Division Manager for Epson’s Semiconductor Operations Division.

Epson’s controller IC’s functionality is fully enabled when integrated into a display solution utilizing a host controller, tuned waveforms, and E Ink’s Vizplex-enabled active matrix electrophoretic displays. Its ability to perform regional updates contributes to a more responsive screen for both input and output usage. Samples of the Epson S1D13521B will be available in May 2008. Production quantities will be available in August 2008. Sample price is $18.

The Broadsheet AM300 prototype kit being offered by E Ink is the fastest way to start working with E Ink technology using the Epson EPD controller. The Broadsheet kit will enable engineers to rapidly prototype and develop next generation ePaper products. Compatible with 5-in., 6-in., 8-in., and 9.7-in. active matrix displays, the kit allows users to quickly create functional, low-profile product mock-ups using the kit’s modular design. The AM300 will be shipping in June and is available online at www.eink.com for pre-order.

E Ink Announces Major Strides in Its Flexible Display Program

2008-01-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- E Ink Corporation, the leader in electronic paper display technology, today announced advances in its flexible display program with Dr. Michael McCreary highlighting these advances at the recent USDC symposium.

Partner LG.Philips LCD recently announced the world's highest resolution 14.3-inch flexible color display at the January 2008 CES show. This display utilizes E Ink's Vizplex Imaging Film with LG.Philip's metal foil and plastic substrate backplane. The resulting display is less than 300 micrometers thick with a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels and is both rollable and bendable, with no image distortion. "The potential applications for this display are incredible and will allow our customers to create new products that are not only convenient to use but also save natural resources. This represents the next generation in display technology." Said Mr. In-Jae Chung, the company's Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President.

Last week, partner Polymer Vision announced plans to mass produce a rollable display device, Readius(TM) aimed at cell phone applications. The rollable display in the Readius also contains E Ink's Vizplex Imaging Film. "People are demanding greater choice and flexibility in having overall instant access to personal content and information" said Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision. "They do not want to be concerned with small screens, not being able to read in sunlight, a dead battery or a device being too bulky to carry in their pocket."

Partner Plastic Logic announced that it had raised $100 Million in funding and was building the first factory to manufacture plastic electronics on a commercial scale. "Our revolutionary flexible displays using E Ink's Vizplex technology will radically change the way the world receives information," said Dr. John Mills, COO of Plastic Logic.

E Ink has worked with these, and other industry leaders including Prime View International, Samsung and Epson, in developing flexible displays for the market and has pioneered a number of "world's firsts" in the display industry. Displays using E Ink Vizplex Imaging Film are ideally suited for flexible display applications due to their thin form factor and inherent flexibility. E Ink's electronic ink is an image stable reflective display technology that uses ultra-low power but is easily read under any lighting condition including direct sunlight. Unlike liquid crystal displays, the image on E Ink displays looks the same from all viewing angles and will not distort when touched or flexed, making electronic ink the ideal display medium for flexible displays and portable devices.

"We believe the flexible display market will grow at the CAGR of over 120% in the next three years and be over $600 Million in 2010, and electrophoretic display will continue to be the lead among all the display technologies for flexible display." said Dr. Jennifer Colegrove, senior analyst of iSuppli Corporation who is the author of iSuppli's Flexible Display report (2008 version).

"E Ink was founded on the vision of Radio Paper(TM), that is, flexible wireless displays," said Dr Michael McCreary, vice president of advanced research and development at E Ink Corporation. "We are excited that our partners are moving forward with electronic solutions that are not dependent on breakable glass substrates, and, together with E Ink Vizplex Imaging Film, enable new applications that require extremely light weight and rugged displays."

Folding device coming soon

2008-01-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

Polymer Vision has announced that its first device with a rollable display will hit the market by the middle of this year.

The Readius will include the features people have become accustomed to in a high-end phone: tri-band GSM with HSDPA support, email, mp3 player, SD card slot, etc.

But it will also include something definitely not available on other phones: a 5-inch display flexible enough that it can be folded up, making the whole device roughly the size of a typical smartphone.

This screen uses technology that has been developed by Polymer Vision. This eInk-type display has several advantages -- it doesn't require a backlight, for example -- but has one significant drawback: no color. Instead it will offer 16 shades of grey.

This will not be a touchscreen. Instead, this phone will be controlled through 8 buttons. Exactly how this will work is not yet clear.

"People are demanding greater choice and flexibility in having overall instant access to personal content and information" said Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision. "They do not want to be concerned with small screens, not being able to read in sunlight, a dead battery or a device being too bulky to carry in their pocket. Readius solves these worries and is generations ahead of anything else out there today".

More Details on the Readius

Because of its unique display, Polymer Vision is emphasizing the Readius' usefulness as an ebook reader, but its feature list doesn't end there.

It will be able to get email from POP3 and IMAP accounts, and play MP3s. However, because of its slow screen refresh rate, it will not be able to play video.

To store ebooks and music files, the Readius will have an SD card slot with SDHC support, allowing it at least 8 GB of capacity.

What operating system this model will use has not yet be revealed, but it will run on a 400 MHz processor and include support for ActiveSync.

This smartphone will be 4.5 inches tall, 2.25 inches wide, and 0.8 inches thick (115mm x 57mm x 21mm). It will weigh 4 oz. (115g)

Because it doesn't need a backlight, this phone will allow users to read for at least 30 hours on a single charge.

Polymer Vision is not saying yet what the Readius will sell for.

More information is available on this company's web site.

Luxury e-ink watch

2007-12-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

- Art Technology Ltd announced today the launch of its Phosphor(TM) branded luxury chronometers, featuring a dual Analog-Digital wristwatch using E Ink's electronic paper display technology.

Phosphor(TM) is an emerging brand in the luxury timing industry that marries sharp design with next generation technology. The Phosphor E Ink watch represents its first line of fashion watches.

The gleaming

metal case features a bold geometry, generously oversized buttons and knobs, and a luxuriously thick strap. However what makes the Phosphor E Ink watch truly unique is that the entire watch dial is an E Ink Vizplex(TM) electronic paper display.

The E Ink technology depicts digital time with the look of electronic paper and can be read accurately and instantly from any angle - vastly improving on dull liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that typify previous digital watches. The customizable dial allows the owner to select among styles, from the precise detail of full numerals and indices to the simplicity of no markings at all.

"The phosphor watch with the ink on paper look E-INK display has a significantly better viewing angle than watches with typical Liquid Crystal displays, and a much better contrast in high brightness situations than any emissive display," said Chris King, SID Fellow, and co-founder of Planar Systems.

Previous luxury watches using E Ink displays have been limited to small editions and priced at $2,000 or more. Art Technology is selling this watch directly from its website at www.phosphorwatches.com for $250 - affordable for any watch enthusiast who will enjoy the combination of luxury and convenience of the analog-digital Phosphor E Ink watch.

E Ink's cutting edge Vizplex film based electronic paper technology enables a new generation of watch devices with the following display benefits:

Ultra High Contrast: The display is made up of pure black and pure white particles, which allow the same contrast as found on a printed page; more than twice the contrast, of a conventional LCD panel. It can be easily read in either bright sunlight or in dimly lit environments.

Low Power Consumption: Since the display is readable under very low light conditions, no backlighting is required. The display also has an inherently stable 'memory effect' that requires no power to maintain an image. For these reasons, battery life can be extended.

Wide Viewing Angle: With a viewing cone of 180 degrees, the electrophoretic technology overcomes the disadvantages of conventional displays when it comes to off-axis viewing. Together with its high contrast, it allows the user to read the time at a glance from any angle.

About Art Technology Limited

Art Technology is a private Hong Kong based company that partners world-class watch production with sharp design utilizing emerging technologies. It currently markets these new watches under the Phosphor(TM) watch brand.

www.phosphorwatches.com -0- media contact: Art Technology 2892 N. Bellflower Blvd., Suite #485 Long Beach, CA 90815 T: 310.721.2624 pr@phosphorwatches.com

Download the product documentation in PDF

E-book readers round up

2007-11-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

via wired

Qualcomm enters e-paper video race

2007-11-20T06:08:00.000-08:00

A novel electronic-paper display developed by Qualcomm can deliver high-quality video images, making it more versatile than other e-paper technologies. The display employs microscopic mechanical switches that turn pixels on and off at rates more than fast enough to display video.

The first versions of the display will be monochrome; one is featured in an Audiovox Bluetooth headset, released this week. A two-color display will be used next year in a phone made by the Chinese phone company Hisense. Full-color versions will follow.

Like ordinary paper, e-paper displays are designed to be reflective, making them much easier to view in a range of different lighting conditions, such as bright sunlight, than are traditional displays, such as backlit LCDs. The other main advantage is that they are bi-stable, meaning that once they have been switched to a state, they will hold that state without requiring an electrical current. The benefit of this is that they use considerably less power. These features make them ideal for applications such as signs and electronic books, including Sony's eBook reader.

In most e-paper displays, however, pixels switch on and off too slowly to display video, says James Cathey, vice president of business development for Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, based in San Diego. Indeed, other e-paper technologies can take longer than half a second to respond. Such slow switching can lead to "ghosting," in which moving subjects blur. In contrast, pixels in the new Qualcomm display can switch in just tens of microseconds--fast enough to produce sharp video images. Cathey says that this ability to use the displays for video could make e-paper less of a niche technology and suitable for more mainstream multimedia displays for mobile devices like cell phones.

The new display technology uses a novel method for producing color. The method employs mechanisms that are similar to the ones that give films of oil on water a colorful sheen, says André Arsenault, a chemist at the University of Toronto, and cofounder and chief technology officer of Opalux, a Toronto-based e-paper startup.

When light hits a film of oil, it splits, with some reflecting and the rest passing through the oil before being reflected off the surface of the water. The light reflecting off the oil is slightly out of phase with the light reflecting from the water. As a result, light waves interfere with each other, with some wavelengths being reinforced and others canceled out. The distance between these surfaces determines which colors are amplified and which are canceled. Films of oil of a certain thickness, for example, would amplify green light while canceling out red and blue light, making the oil appear green.

In the display, each pixel consists of several color-specific cells that mimic the film of oil on water. Each cell is made up of two reflective layers, one on top of the other. The top layer is only partially reflective, allowing some light to pass through it and bounce off the second surface. In each cell, the gap between these surfaces is spaced so that constructive interference occurs for only one specific range of wavelengths, causing them to amplify a single primary color while canceling out other colors. To create a full-color display, each pixel is made up of three different types of cells, each having a different-size gap between the layers that reflects red, green, or blue.

Each cell can be turned off by bringing together the two layers using an electromechanical switch. (When there is little space between the layers, no visible light is amplified, making the cell appear black.) The switch moves after a pulse of voltage and stays in place until another pulse moves it back. As a result, the display is bi-stable, using little energy except to change the image.

By combining different sets of colored cells as subpixels, researchers can get any color of the spectrum, says Cathey. These MEMS devices are very robust, he says, and have been demonstrated to be reliable for more than 12 billion cycles.

"I personally think this technology is very cool," says Arsenault. But because of the fabrication processes used to create MEMS devices, there is a constraint on how big such displays can be made, he says, which is the reason that Qualcomm is targeting small mobile displays.

What's more, the energy savings will only apply when the display is used to view static, not video, images,

says Johan Feenstra, one of the founders of Liquavista, a spinout from Philips Research, based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, which is also developing e-paper capable of video rates. "Bi-stability is only useful when you have an application where you don't change the image often," Feenstra says.

For video, this isn't the case because the pixels have to be switched on and off almost continuously, says Guido Aelbers, chief operating officer at Polymer Vision, also in Eindhoven. "The moment you go to high speeds, you lose the low-power advantage," he says.

Even so, both Aelbers and Feenstra believe that having video capabilities as well as color opens up a much bigger marketplace for e-paper displays. But with LCD technology constantly improving and costing less, it could well give the new display a run for its money, says Aelbers.

Via MIT

Color E-ink and video expected soon

2007-11-20T06:07:00.000-08:00

The new Amazon Kindle e-reader, unveiled yesterday, is the latest in a line of ever-improving black-and-white e-paper displays that don't use much power and are bright even in daylight; they more closely reproduce conventional paper and ink than do backlit displays. But bigger technology leaps are imminent. E-paper pioneer E Ink--the company whose technology underpins the Amazon gadget's display--is prototyping versions of the electronic ink that are bright enough to support filters for vivid color displays, and that have a fast-enough refresh rate to render video.

Add it all up, and it represents an emerging trifecta of color, video, and flexibility set to transform a display technology once seen as suited only for rigid black-and-white e-readers like the Kindle and the Sony Reader, and other niche applications like train-station schedule displays that don't need to change quickly. "This latest thing they've done with the video is a key milestone in the history of e-paper technology development," says Gregory Raupp, director of the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University. "Until this point, you have been limited to static image applications."

E Ink's basic technology uses a layer of microcapsules filled with flecks of submicrometer black and white pigment chips in a clear liquid. The white chips can be positively charged, the black chips negatively charged. Above this layer is a transparent electrode; at the base is another electrode. A positive charge on the bottom electrode pushes the white chips to the surface, making the screen white. A negative charge pushes the black chips up, rendering words and images.

But the basic technology only produces a black-and-white image. So, E Ink has been refining the ingredients, the electronics, and the mechanics of that process. For example, in recent months the company has developed ultrabright inks that reflect 47 percent of ambient light--a significant improvement over the 35 to 40 percent in existing E Ink black-and-white displays. Higher reflectivity versions should go into commercial products, such as the Sony Reader, in the next year or so.

This higher brightness makes color displays possible. E Ink uses transparent red, green, or blue filters affixed above the picture elements. In essence, software controls groups of microcapsules sitting below filters of particular hues, and it only turns the microcapsules white when those hues are sought. The E Ink filters are custom-made by a partner, Toppan Printing of Tokyo, to work well with the specific shades, brightness, and reflectivity of the E Ink technology. The first color experimentation began several years ago, but it has been steadily improving in brightness and contrast, says Michael McCreary, E Ink's vice president of research and advanced development. He offered no estimate for a commercialization date.

In another set of advances, tweaks to the E Ink particles and their polymer coatings, and to the chemistry of solution inside the microcapsules, have helped improve the speed at which the particles can move. McCreary says that for years, conventional wisdom held that E Ink technology could never be made video ready, because particles had to be moved through a liquid. But E Ink has done it, thanks to polymer particle coatings and "special stuff in the clear liquid," McCreary says.

In the company's Cambridge, MA, headquarters, two prototypes show the payoff. One is an e-reader display in bright, vivid color. Touch a button, and an image of a bunch of flowers appears; bring the display outside, and it shines brighter because it is reflecting ambient light. (As with black-and-white e-paper, until a user changes that image, the unit consumes virtually no power.) The other prototype, a six-inch display hooked up to a computer, showed a video clip from the animated movie Cars. It was a bit grainy but was switching frames 30 times per second. Two years ago, the switching time in products with E Ink technology was just one frame per second.

While the video version is still several years from market, "this was a landmark milestone in the history of e-paper," says Russ Wilcox, E Ink's CEO. Invoking the long-held dream for e-paper--that it can be an electronic replacement for real newsprint--he added, "You can imagine a USA Today weather chart where clouds are actually moving."

E Ink is working with several leading display makers to develop flexible transistors that will create E Ink and other color displays that are bendable and even rollable. LG Philips recently announced the world's first 14.1-inch flexible color e-paper display using E Ink technology. The color version uses a substrate that arranges thin-film transistors on metal foil rather than on glass. And last month, Samsung used E Ink technology to set a new world record in terms of the resolution of a large flexible color display. (Samsung's 14.3-inch screen has a 1,500-by-2,120-pixel resolution.) No commercialization date has been announced for these technologies.

Other companies are also making advances in e-paper. One of them, San Diego's Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, has developed a MEMS-based version that can produce video-ready refresh rates and will appear in monochrome and bicolor displays in the next year or so. (See "E-Paper Displays Video.") But E Ink is generally acknowledged to have the best technology in terms of simulating the look of paper, says Raupp, whose research lab has partnerships with 16 display makers, including both E Ink and Qualcomm. "Put the two side by side--which one looks like paper? There would be no contest," Raupp says of E Ink and Qualcomm. The move into video and color "expands the application space" and makes E Ink a leading candidate to become a fixture in flexible displays, he adds.

via MIT