Papyrus e-book concept takes aim at students

You don't have to look very far to find e-book concepts these days, but this so-called Papyrus device from the folks at Greener Grass aims a bit higher than most, with it promising to be nothing short of an inexpensive replacement for students' textbooks. If the designers have their way, the device would cost less than $100, while still packing an E Ink-based touchscreen (with handwriting recognition, it seems), and a battery that lasts for a full 30 hours -- not to mention some sort of networking functionality, as the device is apparently also designed to let teachers and students interact with one another. Not exactly something you can expect to pick up anytime soon, to be sure, but the designers don't appear to have any presumptions about it actually getting made, with them saying instead that they simply want it to be a "catalyst for discussion about improving the classroom experience," and that's certainly hard to argue with.

[Brian @ Apr 18th 2008 4:21PM]

Wow...

[phanbouy @ Apr 18th 2008 4:22PM]

i guess "wow..." is the new "first post!"

[Brian @ Apr 18th 2008 4:23PM]

I, for one, would welcome "wow" as the new "first post."

[phanbouy @ Apr 18th 2008 4:27PM]

hey at least you admit it

[Ethan @ Apr 18th 2008 4:46PM]

I hate WOW, you should all be playing Doom instead.

[rv @ Apr 18th 2008 4:55PM]

Wow, these can't play crysis

[t3_slider @ Apr 18th 2008 5:12PM]

Is that really funny? I mean, we all know about these 'jokes'. "Will it play doom?" "Will it play Crysis?" "Will it play COD#?" "Will it blend?" "I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlords" etc. etc. etc. We get it, we've seen it, it's not funny and never was. Do you really think you're 'cool' for saying it? Do you check back on one of these lame comments to see how it gets ranked? 'Cause 99.99% of the time, it'll be Neutral (ie people see the comment so often they don't want to waste the 3 seconds it takes to low-rank you) or Low (ie people are annoyed with you in particular, or the lame repetitiveness of your comment, and feel the need to click that button).

The next post will be another lame comment informing me of a repetitive saying that I missed, I'm sure. (Yes, I'm expecting it -- not that I'll ever check back here again).

[Blaktornado @ Apr 18th 2008 5:21PM]

Ethan, that was incredibly cheesy.

[Abuzar @ Apr 19th 2008 12:10AM]

It can wow, but can it Surface?

[Ghen @ Apr 18th 2008 4:21PM]

They should team up with college bookstores around the country with download centers that allow you to update the hardware with your new semester's books. All it would need is a proprietary connection for transfer, usb would be too easy to hack.

Only thing that wouldn't work is the "used" book market with "notes" scribbled in the pages ;)

[jerryA @ Apr 18th 2008 4:51PM]

Then they would just have something different to gouge you on!

[payne @ Apr 18th 2008 4:24PM]

Add a scroll design and I'll buy one.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/16/scroll-concept-device-packs-everything-but-a-sense-of-reality/

[Paul @ Apr 18th 2008 4:42PM]

OMG... Let me tell you:
From a person like me, who takes classes, and give classes, this would be the most perfect tool.
Obviously, these types of invention do not come to fructition, because of the TextBook industry.
I agree with you when you say that an online downloadable text book community would be great. Students could pay a variable fee depending on how many books they download, and how many classes they are taking.

Unbelievable that in the beginning of the 21st centuy, we have not resolve the problem of way-too-heavy school bags... It is a serious problem in countries like France, where periods are divided very differently than in the US.

[johnny5 @ Apr 18th 2008 5:10PM]

These concepts aren't addressing any interesting problems. Agreed, the only problem is wriggling out from under the textbook industry. That's why it would take a vertical system, where the maker gets educators to write solid content and just cut the McGraw-Hills out of the loop. Unlike the entertainment industry, no one's clamoring for a specific author.
Then the cost of the readers could easily be subsidized by the content, or just the whole package with say, 4 years' content included. If you let the students keep the readers after graduation, then you've got a new user base to sell content to.

[Michael @ Apr 19th 2008 8:07AM]

In defense of the problem-solving component, our concept tries to leverage students' ability to use communicate through sites like Facebook and Blogger into an educational format. Even though a lighter backpack is a definite benefit, we are aiming far beyond that.

[schmitty338 @ Apr 18th 2008 6:10PM]

uhh....actually similar textbook alternatives are already underway....for example, some med schools gives students a DVD with all of the required textbooks on it for each year...

I go to U of T and many of the textbooks I need are available online to all students. The university just purchases a license for a certain number of students and then it's legal. Then I just 'print' the text digitally into OneNote and I can highlight, annotate, and take notes right on my computer....I have a dell M1330 which literally contains every bit of information I need for my university education (obviously backed up to my desktop)...

[Patrick DeLong @ Apr 18th 2008 8:00PM]

Actually, I live in the US, and my backpack weighs an excruciating 40 pounds..............and thats only my binders, folders, and day to day stuff.....Add in my textbooks, it could easily go to 60.......

[johnny5 @ Apr 19th 2008 12:42AM]

Shmitty, that's great. But I'm thinking about elementary and high school kids as well. Giving them all laptops is not as practical.

[Paul @ Apr 19th 2008 10:43AM]

Wow, I did not think that my comment was going to generate that many responses... Thank you!

@ schmitty338: I know that there are schools that already practice "VirtualTextBooks" but it's not everywhere... I really wished that major campuses around the States were doing the same as your school (I think it's a High School, from what I understand!).

@ johnny5: Realistically, I don't think that students would be able to "re"sell their VirtualBooks. What would be very nice is a way to update content to your TextBook, and be able to have them for life as reference books. You would be able to build a personal database that would include "references & links to original materials," "quote management (to find your quotes by "Theme," "dates"...)."

[VedicHymn @ Apr 18th 2008 4:44PM]

All that for $100? Where's the built in McGriddle maker and PS3?

[Nathan @ Apr 18th 2008 4:48PM]

I would have no problem adopting this as the new standard for classrooms. PowerPoints could be viewed on it, with the ability to take notes. Handwriting to text would also be a must. WiFi, with a lightweight browser. Man, I wish this could be real.

[Adrian @ Apr 18th 2008 6:05PM]

you're describing a tablet PC...

[schmitty338 @ Apr 18th 2008 6:12PM]

Exactly....Tablet + OneNote 2007 = this thing but thicker and more expensive (presuming their predicted price is accurate, which is unlikely).

[Ethan @ Apr 18th 2008 4:49PM]

Love it. Books are rubbish, I'm an english student so an anthology replacement would be much appreciated, however I'm just going to be annoyed about it when all the students in a decade can do it and I'll be grumbling 'too easy' like all the adults sneer at my degree.

[JerryA @ Apr 18th 2008 4:53PM]

As nice as tablets are for classes, obviously a slimmer and cheaper one with more functionality would be nice. It's just a matter of getting it off the ground. Still, things that seem like they will never get made often get made in 5 years or so. Just comparing the PCs of 5-10 years ago to today's will show you that.

[hc5duke @ Apr 18th 2008 5:00PM]

Umm, how far into the future are they talking about? Color e-ink is still very expensive and slow. Unless it's heavily subsidized, after adding touch screen and networking to this, $100 is just a made up number. How about this: I have a concept flying car that runs on air, max speed of 300mph, folds down to the size of your backpack, 0 emissions, and I expect this to cost under $100. I'm still in my design-phase though.

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 18th 2008 5:10PM]

I'll take 5.

Where do I sign?

[Cassini @ Apr 19th 2008 5:19PM]

I'd have to ask the same question. $100 seems quite low considering all that they anticipate a device like this offering. Although anyone would prefer that cost, I'd suspect something like this would sell for closer to $300-$400 USD.

And the way E-ink is now, we have a long way to go before it's ready for prime time. It's as you say - slow. There also isn't any backlighting which makes E-ink useless in many lighting conditions. Those drawbacks need to be rectified, while not demolishing battery life.

With all that said, all students should have a device like this. The reality that students have to lug around forty pounds of books is absurd. The benefits of a device like this are obvious (thin and light (making it easy to tote everywhere); keeps people connected (necessary for the highest degree of success)).

As with any product, we all know the importance of balanced pricing - being realistic about cost and profit margins without pricing it outside the realm of affordability. Screen technology aside, every other component we'd expect to find in a device like this is available and ready to go. So the question is, based on a $300-$400 USD mark, how close are we exactly, to nearing the point where the profit potential is enticing enough that product designers/manufacturers are willing to make a device like this a reality, while avoiding pricing it in such a way that would doom it once it reached the shelves? Are we near to this? Is it too early to tell?

We all know it's inevitable a device like this will will be made - it's certainly long overdue. I just hope it won't be too long.

[Blaktornado @ Apr 18th 2008 5:24PM]

"the device is apparently also designed to let teachers and students interact with one another"

Does that mean they can see the mustaches, beards and penises I've been drawing all over famous historical figures? D:

[Danny @ Apr 18th 2008 5:31PM]

> promising to be nothing short of an inexpensive replacement for students' textbooks

Sounds great!


>but the designers don't appear to have any presumptions about it actually getting made,

There is a catch? Shocker! Sorry but I find this type of thing is useless. They basically came up with a best case scenario, which where every design begins, but didn't connect it to reality at all. Why even post about it? I don't see a single thing in the "proposal" that would address how this would actually be feasible. johnny5's comment actual contains more ideas in that regard. It is easy to "aim high", (the best part is, "with handwriting recognition, it seems" I mean sure, why not!?) when you don't have the pesky limitations of technological and manufacturing reality to deal with. Too bad they didn't give it 120 hour battery life. That would have been something.

[johnny5 @ Apr 19th 2008 12:51AM]

I'm a designer, and while I think concepts are valuable in evolving an actual design, I get sick of those who start and end with a cool 3d rendering, or dream about cramming every buzzword-compliant technology into a gadget with little thought to current technology and prices. Someone said, "Artists ship."

This solves nothing; we've seen similar wet dreams before. The real problems to tackle are in a product/system that satisfies the needs of user AND business so that it actually gets made.

[Ed @ Apr 18th 2008 5:48PM]

I would like to petition engadget to stop with the posts about concept/designs. The only one to ever go further than a pretty 3d rendering is the optimus keyboard, and that took what? 3 years?

[WarMouse @ Apr 18th 2008 6:15PM]

@Ed-
Earlier, Engadget posted on the very first pico projector making it into production. I can't tell you how many posts I read about tiny pocket projectors, mockups of PMP's that could project on the side of a train as you ride to work, etc, etc. And none of them got made---but the coverage of sites like Engadget put the idea into the forefront of people's minds, and created interest for investors and others to seriously consider it as a possibility. This leads to companies putting more funding into an idea, and, down the road, and idea coming to fruition. It's the reason why DARPA has it's rediculous challenges that it creates every year, only to be met by enthusiastic inventors who are trying to further technology. To me, these stories are the exact reason why I read Engadget every day: to see the future before it hits the shelves. If I wanted to just know everything that exists right now, I'd go to a electronics store, and see it for myself.

On topic: I think this is an amazing idea. I don't like the idea of subsciptions covering the cost of devices for most things, because I don't NEED most things (i.e. I don't NEED text messages, cable, etc), but when in college, I can most definitely count on needing to buy textbooks and notebooks every single year. This would be more convenient, cheaper in the long run, and all done with much less paper wasted.

[Ed @ Apr 18th 2008 8:46PM]

@warmouse
I understand what you're saying warmouse. I guess my complaint isn't with ALL the concepts posted. But I do feel that many are not realistic or innovative enough to warrent a post. For instance, this post's concept, an ebook with 30hr battery life, handwriting recognition, E-ink screen and

[RYANGee @ Apr 18th 2008 6:25PM]

". . .while still packing an E Ink-based touchscreen (with handwriting recognition, it seems), and a battery that lasts for a full 30 hours ..."

I like that the designers know about the tech they want. Sure it'll last 30 hours.. . if you don't refresh the page too much. Just make a cheap tablet.

[Jordan @ Apr 18th 2008 7:47PM]

looks a lot better than the ugly device named Kendal

[bernard @ Apr 18th 2008 10:26PM]

a $100 portable device aimed for education?

wonder where I've heard that before...

[Kaminix @ Apr 19th 2008 1:17AM]

Why would they not make this? Don't try to tell me they wouldn't make money of it, I wouldn't believe that for a second.

[sockatume @ Apr 19th 2008 7:01AM]

"the designers don't appear to have any presumptions about it actually getting made"

They also don't seem to have made any assumptions about it being possible. I mean, color electronic paper technology is incredibly immature, and might never actually hit the sort of price range they're hoping for before it's superceded.

Next up: a $25, 100GB MP3 player/phone headset which fits inside earbuds and has a 2-week battery life. And charges wirelessly.

[Abhinav @ Apr 19th 2008 1:05PM]

For $100 with handwriting recognition and running some hack-able form of linux, I'd take it any day!

[Billbo baggins @ Apr 19th 2008 7:59PM]

What we need is a PDF reader. Cheap simple dedicated PDF reader with touchscreen. You can do notes and stuff on it

[brian @ Apr 21st 2008 8:15PM]

I'm sure book manufacturers will charge just as much for the ebook as they do the print copy. Also, there would be no secondary market for the used "ebooks" for students to recoup their money.

[Dan @ Dec 3rd 2008 2:17PM]

Talk about an aim low concept product.

Where are the e-books that fully utilize technology to offer features not available on paper? Where are the books with photos that come to life as video and illustrations that turn into animations?

You're not going to get find those features on low-end specialty hardware. It's going to appear first on general-purpose computers--Windows, Macs, Linux, and even those little 2 pound netbook computers.