electrophoretic
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E Ink acquires SiPix, may dominate e-paper universe
If challenging E Ink's supremacy in the e-paper market was hard before, it just became Sisyphean. The company is acquiring e-paper module maker SiPix through a share buyout worth about NT$1.5 billion ($50.1 million) if all goes smoothly. What goals E Ink has with the merger aren't as apparent, although the company wants to go beyond just supplying the parts for another Kindle Touch or Nook Simple Touch -- the aim is to "diversify into newer applications" even as the company corners those markets it already leads. The deal should close in the fall if regulators sign off on the deal, although we wouldn't be too quick to assume clearance is a sure thing. As NPD DisplaySearch warns, the deal would give E Ink complete control of the electrophoretic display technology that dictates the e-paper field. That doesn't allow for a lot of variety in the space when alternatives like Qualcomm's Mirasol are being scaled back.
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. %Gallery-79970%
Hanvon taps E Ink for Vizplex tech in N510 e-book reader
If you've been disinterested in the current wave of e-book readers due to their size, have a gander at Hanvon's N510. Yeah, you'll have to look a little harder than usual given its diminutive size, but it's there (we promise). Hailed as the world's first five-inch e-book to use electrophoretic technology, this power-sipping device relies on an E Ink Vizplex display and offers up 180-degrees viewing, an 11-millimeter thick frame and support for TXT, HTML, PNG, JPG, PDF, XEB, CEB, MP3 and MTXT formats. The daylight-viewable screen boasts an SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, and it comes loaded with a 1GB SD card and a mini USB port. There's no direct mention of availability, but it should start floating around soon (somewhere in the world, at least) for $295.[Via Slashgear]
Epson's 7.1-inch, QXGA e-paper
Seiko Epson, consistently at the forefront of new flexible display technology, has once again announced a breakthrough in plastic-substrate-based electronic paper manufacturing. Using its proprietary SUFTLA (surface-free technology by laser annealing) technique, combined with electrophoretic technology from US-based E-Ink, the company has managed to produce a 0.47-millimeter-thick, A6-size (7.1-inch) sheet of e-paper that sports an impressive 2,048 x 1,536 pixels (QXGA) and a maximum drive voltage of six volts. The new display, which also features a 10:1 contrast ratio and almost border-less design, was announced at the Society for Information Display's (SID) recent international symposium in San Francisco.[Via Akihabara News]
