Toshiba Matsushita electronic paper alternative hits mass production

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology looks to be making a big play in the rapidly growing electronic paper/ink industry, announcing that its 5-inch monochrome VGA display has gone into mass production. While less flexible than some alternatives, Toshiba Matsushita's display looks like it should be relatively easy on the eyes, with a 12:1 contrast ratio, 20 ms response time, and 16 levels of gray, with some internal and external reflective mojo eliminating the need for a backlight. Obviously not enough to cut it in a PMP, but more than adequate for some paperless page-turning. Just as importantly, the display keeps power consumption down to a minimum, consuming just 4mW of power in 2-level greyscale mode and 20mW in full 16-level mode. Unfortunately, the company hasn't yet provided any firm production numbers, nor has it given any indication when the displays might actually find their way into some products.

[Via MobileRead]

[J. McNair @ Jan 16th 2007 10:13PM]

Wow, 640 x 480 at 5 inch diagonal approximates to about 160 dpi. That's resolution nearly as good as paper. This easily puts it in a class with the One Laptop Per Child display. Can't wait for the next generation of this and other technologies like this so that the potential of electronic books is finally realized.

[Rex @ Jan 16th 2007 10:26PM]

It would be nice to use this as a recyclable form for newspapers. Where you can go to your local newspaper's site and download the day's news onto the paper. It would save up the use of paper even though newspapers are from renewable resources.. But.. it actually depends on what the cost difference is between making electronic paper and regular paper though.. or something :)

[gfar @ Jan 16th 2007 10:46PM]

I'd rather have a hard copy...I print out webpages to waste more paper.

[Scooter @ Jan 17th 2007 12:25AM]

contrast ratio of 12:1 - is that right? Am I missing something, or does that mean pure grey?

[Castle @ Jan 17th 2007 1:56AM]

>>contrast ratio of 12:1 - is that right? Am I missing something, or does that mean pure grey?

Engadget did a poor job explaining this. . .

This is E-ink not a normal display, essentially a display that is designed to replicate paper, the display should look almost exactly like ink on paper and should be very easy on the eyes compared to LCD displays. The contrast ratio is relative to the ink versus the background.

Also the display is static, so there is no flickering. The science behind it is that the upper half of the screen is charged and is able to attract beads of ink, these beads stick to the surface when charge (the image it wants to display).ink o

[deslock @ Jan 17th 2007 6:50AM]

Electronic-ink reportedly only requires power to update the screen (ie once you set the page, there is no drain on the batteries until you change it again). However, that's not mentioned anywhere in the article and 4mW/20mW power consumption is so low, it makes me wonder if they're for changing the screen or for maintaining it. Anyone know?

For reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_ink

[scott berfield @ Jan 17th 2007 1:29PM]

I saw the Sony reader at CES and was very impressed with the form factor -- BUT it was very gray. Also, the screen refresh causes a black flash before the text apepars - and this is pretty ugly. Overall I found it esthetically unsatisfying vs. paper. If they can get this tech to the point where the background is truly white with black text, I'm in. Until then, I'm sticking with paper.

[ntgxtreme @ Jan 17th 2007 8:28PM]

Although traditionally paper and websites have been black on white - direct opposites creating the most contrast and theoretically the best legibility, shades approaching neutral tones are less fatiguing on the eyes over long periods of time of viewing.

[Nina Morrison @ Mar 6th 2007 12:18AM]

Hi Engadget Readers:

I am a technical and professional writing student at San Francisco State University. I'm working on a GIANT project about electronic paper for a class.

I found this thread here and I was wondering if anyone interested in this topic, who lives around the bay area, might be willing to subject themselves to a (brief) interview.

There must be someone around? I'm trying to graduate college already. I'm a nice person. I am 35 years old.

Thanks,

[e-mail]

[mpaperless @ Jun 21st 2007 5:52AM]

It's just a matter of time and economies of scale. I still want to have print outs. But anyway The great thing about all these display types is that anyone can choose the one that's right for them and the competition will make them all cheaper for everyone.

efact paperless office

[mpaperless @ Jun 21st 2007 6:00AM]

It's just a matter of time and economies of scale. I still want to have print outs. But anyway The great thing about all these display types is that anyone can choose the one that's right for them and the competition will make them all cheaper for everyone.

efact paperless office