It took so long for electronic ink screens to finally hit the market we feel a bit silly getting impatient for the next-generation, but the
Kindle has been on the market for a year and a half now,
Sony Reader models for twice that long, and still we're dealing with the same crummy 7:1 contrast ratio, 16 shade grayscale, and .74 second refresh rate. E Ink's Sriram Peruvemba, however, is finally showing off next-generation models of the sort parent company PVI
told us were coming, the first an improvement on existing screens that offers a 12:1 contrast ratio and a refresh rate fast enough for simple animations. Also shown is a larger, (slightly) flexible model rugged enough to take a meaty fist square in the face without blinking a single pixel. This version Peruvemba sees playing a major role in digital textbooks in the future. Unfortunately we still have a bit of time to wait for either, with the boosted contrast ratio model entering production later this year and the flexible one sometime in early 2011. Add another six months or so for devices using the things to make it to retail and hopes for a brighter, next-gen Kindle shipping by the holidays start to look a bit dim.
posted April 21st 2010 9:56AM
I want full color e-ink.
@One Love
When I saw the headline that was my hope. I do think E Ink does grey-scale great, but I think colour is essential if they want to tap into magazines etc.
@One Love
Mirasol looks promising...
@One Love
It exits, but it has drawbacks: Three times the redraw time (and battery usage) when you refresh the screen and the colours are still pretty washed out.
@One Love why? most of books and next books don't have color pages neither
@Jimbojones Most comic books have color pages. Color will give more flexibility as to what you do with your device.
@Jimbojones
That's not true. Most books of certain categories like fiction or non-fiction don't have color. Cook books, textbooks, comics, magazines etc all have colors. I personally have a lot of pdf files in color that I would love to view on an ereader instead of my laptop.
But will it blend Chuck Norris?
@Atkins In this case all things equal, I'd prefer a cheaper technology before more versatile. This technology being used in devices ranging from 50-100 (perhaps with subsidy, like a book a month club for 12 months) is where its at more so than something that does all. If it's cheap enough a dedicated device that does reading can be left in the house and taken out only for long trips or to the coffee shop/park; this might be especially true for the hardcore readers who might actually be willing to have 1 more device with them at all times.
I'm interested in some tablets that have some information out and some that "vapor" would be all too generous of a term as they are figments of my imagination more than anything. But, I think I'd rather have something that is just as good or better at E-ink than the Kindle, but much, much cheaper, before a device that does all.
All that said, I think the masses would prefer a do it all, but I'm talking about 2 things; price/value and an e-reader stand-out.
@juanvaldez "In this case all things equal, I'd prefer a cheaper technology before more versatile."
Agreed :)
My point had more to do with the usefulness of colors. I'm all for less versatile technology that is either cheaper or does things brilliantly.
@juanvaldez That's why I love my Cowon A2.
@Jimbojones
Because it would be perfect for a device like the iPad, where you want color for most of the stuff you do on it but you want the good grayscale for reading books.
@Jimbojones : Think bigger.
@Jack
The problem is, the iPad with e-Ink, color or not, would restrict it too much. If it were primarily an e-reader it would be a good idea, but games and such would look terrible on an e-ink screen. e-readers will always be dedicated devices because of this. The iPad will never take away from the Kindle, and the Kindle will never take away from the iPad.
@PCG Two words: Comic books. Gimme a full color e-ink display and I will buy one if every color shell for reading comic books on.
@One Love
Full color is the way to go. I never planned on getting an ipad for an ereader, but my mind is quickly changing. I have a lot of pdf file ebooks, and I'm a pilot as well; I can put my instrument procedures and maps in pdf format to display on an ebook reader as well.
Problem I have with ebook readers is this. Not all of them handle pdf files equally. I think Sony does a great job with it. The kindle does not do it as well. I also want at least a 9" screen. So that outs the Sony, and the kindle DX is outed because I was not happy with the way it handles pdf files.
I've been reading a lot about eye strain and LCD. It's largely a myth, and most ophthalmologists will tell you that paper, eink, and LCD can all cause eye strain given the circumstances. Each one has an environment that benefits that technology. They all say, regardless of what you are reader, every 20 minutes take a break.
This leads me to the ipad. It's not much more than a kindle DX, it handles pdf files like the Sony if you get the goodreader app for pdf files. It's color, and can do all of my flying stuff. And the eye strain is mostly BS. As long as you take a break every 20 minutes, you're ok.
@(Unverified) That is why mankind invented Pixel Qi; best of both worlds!
@One Love
I'm not sure how they would pull off full color without having poor contrast and/or losing resolution (1/3 of B&W). I guess you still have the benefit of a reflective display that works in sunlight though.
How I love the whole idea of eInk but I just don't think its going to last against the slate/tablet craze. Its great on the eyes but the single purpose really limits it. Only if Amazon or some other company could really collaborate with magazine and newspapers like Apple did for the iPad, then it may become a viable option for many people. Note: this is not an endorsement of the iPad but I really see many sites going in that direction rather than going towards eInk displays.
@djt
I think eink was doing fine. IT was Apple coming in and basically pushing everyone to have the same prices across the board so they could compete with Kindle that messed things up for many.
There are still a lot of independent publishers I can get great books for on Kindle at a decent price without buying from the major 6. I do love Kindle, and I am buying a iPad (for the data plan not for ebooks) next week. I'm just waiting eagerly to see what Amazon's next move will be. Its been over a year( Kindle 1 to Kindle 2) now since a Kindle refresh.
@djt
I dunno. I think it lacks the sex appeal of tablets but as far as functionality goes E-books are fantastic. I can take the kindle on a trip and know that its going to have TONs of battery life, I've read it on the beach, hours in terminals and airplanes.... I dunno, I just find my kindle very useful.
@djt "Its great on the eyes but the single purpose really limits it. "
The easiest solution would be to just drop the prices, e-ink readers are just too expensive now.
@djt I'm a little confused by that tbh. E-Ink is a display type, not an actual device.
I'm sure they are working on versions with full colour, better contrast ratio and faster refresh rates. Once they have that sorted then eInk screens would be an ideal feature for a future iPad. No longer would you have to fight the glare of a super shiny screen and the battery life of the device would be extended due to the efficiency of eInk.
@Atkins agree completely, especially for the masses. Someone who reads a book every month or two might be able to justify something for about $50, also would make a great holiday gift. The benefits even past the reading extend far and wide, but I just don't see it getting much beyond hardcores without a price change. With a price change, I can see more argument for having 2 devices than I can for purchasing just an e-reader by itself within the next 12 months (only one I can think of is patience in the tablet market).
@everyone I pretty much agree with all of your points. I think Atkins hits the nail on the head. If they were able to get these devices at a significantly cheaper price point, they would sell like hotcakes. I think $50 would be a dream but I would be happy with something around the $100 - $150 price point.
Clarification: When I said eInk I was grouping all the devices together (ie: Kindle, Nook, Alex) against another group slate/tablet (iPad, HP Slate, Notion Adam)
@FireMonkey "Once they have that sorted then eInk screens would be an ideal feature for a future iPad. No longer would you have to fight the glare of a super shiny screen and the battery life of the device would be extended due to the efficiency of eInk."
While I admire your optimism and think that this will certainly happen one day, e-ink is far from the responsiveness of LCDs. Also, battery life is not only affected by the screen, but by the things you do with your device too. When the e-ink screens become good enough for playing games, watching movies or using some more advanced apps, the battery will start to drain faster.
Yes! Looks like they've fixed everything that's wrong with e-ink (I honestly don't care about colour, and I don't think too many people in real life actually do).
Sheet music, combined with some kind of bluetooth foot-pedal to change page will be awesome.
I think I'm going to wait for Flexible OLED displays instead.
I like these guys, I believe they can coexist with the likes of Mirasol and Co. EInk is unique enough and no one can touch it when it comes to power consumption.
I want this for the Kindle 3, looks and sounds really great.
will it blend?
@suenwaichit With the appropriate blender everything blends.
So are these contrast ratios actually based on some standard, or is this going to escalate to everyone claiming 5 million to one contrasts, based off the difference between looking at it turned off with your closed, then using the eye clamps from A Clockwork Orange with a spot light shooting through the back of the screen at your face?
Or should i just wait for Samsung to make one that for some reason has a glossy screen?
'Kindle'? What's that?
But there might just be a "mirasol" of hope for a better kindle
Seems like India is the next tech nation and they are skipping the obligatory 'made in Japan/Hong Kong/China' hazing period and going straight to the 'cool product' phase.
Full colour, but not ereader I want full colour epaper photo frame.
@Newwales I think it's better for now that E Ink concentrates on what it's good at and improves it's functionality for B&W content. For a photoframe it might never catch up with LED OLED technologies.
@djbentley Why would u want a oled photo frame, it has to be plugged in 24/7 7 days a week, what I would like is a epaper photo frame that looks like a real photo that changes the photo every day & lasts for months on a battery, I dont want a vivid photo frame that lights up the room when u go to bed.
e-who?
Wow I never thought of using E Ink for pieces of music. Definitely would've been awesome to have when I was in high school...no tearing or losing my music and wouldn't have to keep it in a special folder.
But these seem to be two different technologies.
That is just a guess as they don't explicitly discuss it.
But the flexible, durable one might not have the speed and contrast of the one in the first video.
I want it all together...
And I want it cheap.
And I want it now!
I would love durable!
I have a lot of anxiety about dropping things like this, which I am meant to carry about all the time. And especially things with books on them etc... Which will invariably fall from my hands as I nod off.
Take that, Beethoven! (pound pound pound)
Lack of ruggedness is one of the main reasons I've stayed out of the eBook reader game. At least I can throw a book across a room. Kindle or iPad? Not so much.
@LANjackal
I think you have bigger problems than the lack of ruggedness in your e-readers.
It's a real shame that it took so long for e-ink to come to the mass market. I remember following the technology in my early days of high school, roughly a decade ago. Now, the technology seems archaic, especially with the debut of the ipad, which not. Only lasts for 10 hours but can perform more than just "simple animations.
What confuses me is if e-ink development is important news then whats the catch with PixelQi when it already does full motion in colour and has days of battery life just like e-ink?
@Shrikey
i wish to know too.
@Shrikey I just wish I could get my hands on something (anything!) with a pixel qi screen, but if e-ink gets these out I'll probably buy something based on the second screen...
Yay for the bigger screen size too - can someone please get ~A4 sized screens (unlike the courier) and put them in lightweight portable devices aimed at content creation (unlike the ipad). I carry A4 notebooks (and music books) all the time - not everything needs to fit in a pocket, for writing, drawing and playing music BIGGER is BETTER.
Ummm, the Kindle was released in the US on November 19, 2007. That's a touch more than 1 1/2 years.