E Ink responsible for Esquire's flashing magazine cover

Nary a month after an E Ink exec asserted that e-newspapers would be going commercial by 2009, in flies word that a forthcoming issue of Esquire will likely be the poster child for the change. According to David Granger, Esquire's editor in chief, rags have generally "looked the same for 150 years," but all that will change when 100,000 copies of the September issue arrive on newsstands with a flashing electronic cover. The E Ink technology used will be exclusively available to Esquire until 2009, and the blinking "The 21st Century Begins Now" text will sadly fade after the battery runs dry in 90 days. Still, there's at least some chance the issue will wind up in the Smithsonian, and an even bigger chance magazine racks everywhere will require Kanye-approved sunglasses to even look at in just a few years.

[OneLove @ Jul 21st 2008 9:51AM]

FIFO!

[OneLove @ Jul 21st 2008 9:52AM]

fail.

[Mike @ Jul 21st 2008 10:16AM]

you failed yourself...now i feel better.

[OneLove @ Jul 21st 2008 11:15AM]

I "failed" myself because after I submitted my post "randy's" comment was on top. I refreshed about 6 times and mine was on top? (The epic fail belongs to engadget's comment system)

[Ethan @ Jul 21st 2008 1:40PM]

The amusing irony belongs to engadget's comments system.

[Graham @ Jul 21st 2008 2:06PM]

No, the true fail is to the idea of spamming five posts with nothing but attempting to be the first to post absolutely nothing on one out of a million news articles.

[Randy @ Jul 21st 2008 9:52AM]

Esquire will fold within two years.

[ShadowMaker @ Jul 21st 2008 10:11AM]

It will fold just fine right now. You just have to put some effort into it.

[Ethan @ Jul 21st 2008 1:44PM]

I was about to congratulate them for being pioneers, then I read the bit about exclusivity, which will actually hamstring the innovation, and forms part of the silly posturing side of this magazine I don't like. But most of it is really good, it is the most intelligent magazine for men around (but that is an easy category to win).

[0megapart!cle @ Jul 21st 2008 2:32PM]

The exclusivity thing really isn't a big thing, as it is only until 2009 and only in print. How many other companies would have really signed up to use the technology in that short time in the print industry? Esquire also put up a lot of their own money to develop this technology in its first use, so it makes sense.

[Randy @ Jul 21st 2008 9:52AM]

Esquire will fold within two years.

[Kabadisha @ Jul 21st 2008 10:08AM]

Why do you say that?

[SishGupta @ Jul 21st 2008 9:54AM]

Newspapers are going to be SO harry potter.

[7on @ Jul 21st 2008 10:54AM]

Plotter?

[giuliop @ Jul 21st 2008 11:46AM]

Plopper.

[kinshadow @ Jul 21st 2008 12:37PM]

Spider-pig

[Ethan @ Jul 21st 2008 1:45PM]

Don't you mean Daily Prophet? What-ho.

[GRoar1 @ Jul 21st 2008 10:02AM]

Kanye-approved, what about Lil Wayne-approved?

[Rick @ Jul 21st 2008 10:04AM]

What a waste. Most the covers will wind up in landfills, recycling centers, or used for canary cage paper.

[Bob @ Jul 21st 2008 11:30AM]

No, most will get bought up by nerds so we can use them for our own nefarious purposes!

[GTMac @ Jul 21st 2008 10:07AM]

"...and the blinking "The 21st Century Begins Now" text will sadly fade after the battery runs dry in 90 days."

I thought E Ink only consumed energy when changing states. If the cover is blinking wouldn't the final state of the cover after the battery runs out either be with the text permanently on or permanently blank rather than fading?

[Oinquer @ Jul 21st 2008 11:42AM]

yep thats odd. i even have a cellphone with e-ink LCD and it has the time in the LCD for about 6 months since i took the battery of it without turning it off...
are you guyz sure this is the famous E-ink?

[RichardBronosky @ Aug 8th 2008 11:05PM]

No blinking. No fading. Sadly this "article" is gleamed from New York Times, Boing Boing, and FastCompany. And what little the Engadget author did pen, is inaccurate. I would think that if I were tasked with writing an article about eInk, I would read something about the product in question before publication.

eInk only draws power while the pixels are changing color. Blinking would be a ridiculous waste of that energy source that was so expensive to develop.

[wykell @ Jul 21st 2008 10:30AM]

I'm so fricken excited by this, I don't even know what to say.

[Karen @ Jul 21st 2008 10:32AM]

I really hate trying to read websites when there are flashing ads on them -- in fact, I usually leave. I won't like flashing newspaper ads or magazine covers any better. I like books and magazines to lay still and be quiet.

@Rick -- yes, it's going to be a waste. Has anyone thought about how to recycle this stuff yet?

[Mojo_Yugen @ Jul 21st 2008 11:45AM]

dude, adblock.

[Oinquer @ Jul 21st 2008 11:42AM]

...recycle why? after these are released, some guyz will do a DIY programmer for it and you can write whatever you want! very nice indeed

[Farmer Joe @ Jul 21st 2008 10:47AM]

Great. More stuff blinking at me.

[Michael @ Jul 21st 2008 10:57AM]

Pretty cool. I'm going to have to pick up a copy.

[Redbeard @ Jul 21st 2008 11:02AM]

just imagine the hacking potential of picking up a few issues for under $10 and then starting to play. the folks over at hack a day will have a field day.

[johnzilla @ Jul 21st 2008 12:00PM]

Yeah, there are just so many different uses for blinking text. The list is endless!

[phil @ Jul 21st 2008 11:04AM]

Oof. Is it just me, or does Granger look really, really old in that photo?

[dm @ Jul 21st 2008 11:19AM]

Dear Mr. Granger,
The 21st century began eight years ago.
Yrs,
Blog reader in NY

[thedesolate1 @ Jul 21st 2008 11:30AM]

It will fade away right along with physical paper media....not now but in the next 20 years I believe. I think they are gonna have kiosks where we just download our magazines into our smart phones with bendable flexible displays.

[GTMac @ Jul 21st 2008 11:48AM]

As opposed to those unbendable flexible displays?

[Plothole @ Jul 21st 2008 6:17PM]

It sounds odd, but actually there are two "types" of flexible displays in development. Ones that can bend just a little bit...just enough to make them resistant to cracking... and then ones that can actually roll up. From what I understand, the advantage with the former is that they can be built on existing production lines.

[Harry Wagstaff @ Jul 21st 2008 11:43AM]

There was me thinking that print media was safe for sufferers of epilepsy.

[joe blow @ Jul 21st 2008 12:06PM]

Does this take a standard magazine recharger? No more proprietary magazine rechargers please.

[RapidKiller @ Jul 21st 2008 12:27PM]

I see it now, instead of newspaper stands, there will be a stack of 64 MB SD cards you can buy, or download. just slip it into the slot and read. well at least it will save the trees.

[Bill @ Jul 21st 2008 11:33PM]

Why bother with a card...you buy at the stand and wi-fi it to your bendy display, or your mag is auto downloaded via wi-fi if you are a subscriber. Say, I'll bet if you pay a premium, you can get your mag without any adverts.

[dwr50 @ Jul 21st 2008 12:40PM]

Whats that glow over by the landfill ??

[Ethan @ Jul 21st 2008 1:47PM]

Ultimately developments like this lead on a path to less waste.

[Simon @ Jul 21st 2008 12:50PM]

Anyone seen the date when it will actually hit the newsstands? Didn't find it anywhere :(

[Ethan @ Jul 21st 2008 1:52PM]

A magazine with some classy psuedo-porn, good advice for fashion and health, with the side effect of making me feel quite poor. At least, that's the UK edition. America or other international editions?

[m.edgar @ Jul 21st 2008 3:58PM]

Damn. I'm gonna buy at least three, if I can somehow find them in this part of the EU. Then I'm gonna strip it down and uset he e-ink display for my own screens. I was doubting that I'd ever get my hands on an e-ink screen!

[burntpigeonproductions @ Jul 22nd 2008 9:16AM]

Cover page design by < blink > Lou Montulli < / blink >

[[VBM] @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:56PM]

This will make pranks a lot easier to do. Hijack 1,000 copies of Time with some porno picture on them and re-release them back onto news stands. Or even re-write the entire magazine to suit your agenda(s).

Either way this is a stupid idea, like Amazon's book reader thing.

[Robin @ Jul 22nd 2008 2:09PM]

Hmm... if you want to play around with an e-E-Ink screen, just order a development kit from the company.

http://www.eink.com/kits/index.html

OK, so you need $1,500, which is probably more than a copy of Esquire, but still, they've been available for ages.

Although only a small section of the cover is E-Ink, rather than the whole thing, but it's still an interesting step forward.

[Ende @ Jul 22nd 2008 11:22PM]

Farmer Joe @ Jul 21st 2008 10:47AM

Great. More stuff blinking at me.

-- Best comment (and name) ever! =))

[mrpoo @ Sep 8th 2008 8:38AM]

Carl Reiner is a magazine publisher?