Philips develops color e-paper, wants to skin your gadgets with it

Our first reaction to this was to think just how wildly unnecessary "e-skins" are, but then we saw that slide up there and started to see the (electronic) light. Philips appears to have struck upon its own version of Kent Displays' electronic skins, which requires no backlighting, operating by reflecting ambient light instead. Based on similar tech to e-books, this invention is initially targeted at generating colorful covers for things like mobile phones and mp3 players, but it's said to be "highly scalable" and e-wallpapers and light-dimming windows could be on the cards if things continue developing. And of course, no "water cooker" would be left behind.

Philips e-skin

[dLockers Posted Dec 10th 2009 5:59AM]

My 101 Dalmatian mug has done this since I was 7

[MJGAMER 1991 XBL Posted Dec 10th 2009 4:06PM]

@(Unverified)

Color changing bendy-straws!

[IceNio Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:03AM]

wow , this would find a place in the tech world for sure. Let's hope it'll be soon though.

[NAME Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:04AM]

Really? we now need colour changing tea kettles?

WTF we seemed to have gotten along without this for the last 60 years...

How about making my car change colour mofos!

[laughingisfree Posted Dec 10th 2009 9:03AM]

@NAME

no kidding, so steam coming out from the top is not enough indicator that the water is hot?

[Rossgadget Posted Dec 10th 2009 2:38PM]

@NAME

yeah, screw technology! Innovation sucks!

you realize you're reading, no less commenting on a gadget blog right?

[Ahmed Alzayani Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:18AM]

The first thing came into my mind expiration date, small flat super low power chip power stamp size label in food and drink products, it's simply show green , before the date of the expiration date, on the expiration date it self it's change to yellow, and when it's expired it's change to red.

Also integrating this into cloth will be very big idea.

[Sean Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:40AM]

@Ahmed Alzayani

You be wanting something like this then: http://www.nextnature.net/?p=3921

[JS Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:28AM]

I have this paranoia whenever I buy milk from the store that the bottle I'm getting was left out (say somebody took the bottle from the fridge and then decided they didnt want it and left it in some other aisle and then an employee found it and put it back). Can they make a label that goes on milk or tv dinners that says if it was ever warm, or based on sensing for chemicals spoilt? that should be easy right? Tiny packets of something that when it melts releases ink and turns the label (and allows text to come visible) a certain color like red to indicate the tv dinner was left out of the freezer too long.

OK I am sure it exists .. I just havent googled.

[artist Posted Dec 10th 2009 7:38AM]

@JS milk is for infants.

[codebreaker Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:51AM]

@artist your mother's milk is for infants

[y3knik Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:34AM]

ummm... why cant this be used in more useful things, such as a colored e-book reader?

[Sean Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:43AM]

Wallpaper? or in that embarrsing moment where someone says "didn't you wear that t-shirt yesterday?"..........and at a push of a button BAM! change of colour!

[MVMNT Posted Dec 10th 2009 7:19AM]

But you can already get colour changing kettles without the need of over exuberant tech like this... and they actually look like that. Someone was short of ideas that day

[artist Posted Dec 10th 2009 7:36AM]

"water cooker"

LOL LOL LOL

you mean a kettle?

[TC Posted Dec 10th 2009 7:55AM]

@artist I almost dropped my open-top coffee-container when I read that!

[endgadget Posted Dec 10th 2009 8:49AM]

@artist
Strange are the ways of the dutch.
Try looking up what they mean by "apples of the earth" :-)

[Rossgadget Posted Dec 10th 2009 2:59PM]

@(Unverified)

isn't that French (pommes de terre)?

[endgadget Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:55PM]

@Rossgadget
also dutch - ardappel (you get heaps of them on your plate with lunch and dinner)

[deedubbadoo Posted Dec 10th 2009 8:19AM]

Is this from the same company that made Hypercolor t-shirts?

[fahrstuhl Posted Dec 10th 2009 8:32AM]

Metal Gear Solid 4 OctoCamo!

[Sphynx Posted Dec 10th 2009 8:33AM]

MW2 on a phone, the game is crap already. I bet it won't get better when played on a phone ;-)

[krymson Posted Dec 10th 2009 9:17AM]

I like my water cooked medium-well

[Hackettman Posted Dec 10th 2009 10:40AM]

I love this technology....... I cant wait til its rollout and implementation across the board.

[johnkzin Posted Dec 10th 2009 10:54AM]

This could be a boon for manufacturers and retailers. No more needing to keep track of colors to keep in stock, which colored items are trendy vs niche, etc. 1 "color" to manufacture, 1 "color" to keep in stock, and yet still a vast (infinite?) range of colors, and possibly patterns, to make available to the buyers.

[EricS Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:18AM]

When this technology is first applied to new portable devices it'll be fun trying to convince someone who found something of yours that you don't remember what color your device is, but it's really yours.

[Chuck Dugan Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:30AM]

Put the water cooker on and make a cup of tea please

[codebreaker Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:49AM]

how do you charge it?

[MrGreen Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:58AM]

Coors Lite bottles and cans already do that.

[Xylenz Posted Dec 10th 2009 6:31PM]

One word... condoms.

[endgadget Posted Dec 11th 2009 12:00AM]

Philips claims to be in healthcare, lighting and lifestyle. Now with this earth shaking invention, they can bring the three domains together! Use this wonderful lighting technology to add to peoples lifestyles and healthcare by making condoms that change color!