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E Ink's latest color ePaper panel is faster, denser and features pen support
E Ink has just announced its next-generation color ePaper panel, and it’s a major update for the nascent technology.
Flexible color ePaper displays could soon adorn your clothes
Plastic Logic is making glass-free panels based on E Ink's ACeP tech.
E Ink shows off a foldable e-reader prototype you can take notes on
It has a huge 10.3-inch screen, which could be great for digital newspapers.
E Ink display lets you write on it as if it were paper
You can already get e-paper notepads that come close to replicating the feel of writing on dead trees, but E Ink thinks it can do better. The company has unveiled a new film, JustWrite, that promises more natural scribbling. It doesn't require a backlight or another display layer, and there's "almost no" lag. You won't have to strain your eyes or second-guess your drawing. The technology is also bendable, works with virtually any size and shape, and needs just a basic stylus as well as some basic electronics -- it shouldn't carry a significant premium.
Sony's FES team and New Balance made an e-paper sneaker
The FES Watch was an e-paper fashion accessory borne out of Sony's interesting idea incubator, First Flight. It was one of the earliest products to make it onto Sony's domestic crowdfunding platform, and it was successful enough to warrant a second-generation product, the more intricate FES Watch U. It's rare to see the e-paper timepieces outside of Japan, but the FES team are here at Sony's IFA booth with a new concept product: A sneaker with e-ink soles and side detailing created in collaboration with New Balance.
Sony's smaller, cheaper Digital Paper tablet reaches the US
Was your heart aflutter when you heard that Sony was releasing a smaller version of its Digital Paper E Ink tablet? If you live in the US, you can satisfy your heart's desire... well, almost. Sony has started pre-orders for the 10.3-inch model (the DPT-CP1) through retailers for $600. That's far from a trivial purchase, but the $200 price advantage over the 13.3-inch variant might be just enough to sway you if you don't need the size of the larger model. You're still getting a long-lasting, lightweight tool for annotating documents and filling out your calendar, just in a notebook size that stands a better chance of fitting in your bag.
This e-paper backpack is the kind of crazy we deserve
Just to be clear, this is exactly what you think it is: a backpack with a hole cut in it, and an e-paper display wedged inside. And yes, that e-paper display has my face on it. Normally, this is the time when I'd start talking about hitting peak CES absurdity, but POP-I president Vikram Joshi has more in store than just these rough early models.
Sony's new e-paper watch actually looks like a timepiece
Earlier this week, Sony introduced its FES Watch U, an e-paper timepiece that it is crowdfunding in Japan. And today, at IFA 2016, we had the chance to see it in person for the first time. As we pointed out before, the FES Watch U is a much more polished version of Sony's original e-ink watch, which was revealed in 2014. The new wearable features a steel frame, instantly giving it that premium look and feel, as well as sapphire glass on the higher-end model.
Sony's crowdfunded e-paper watch is coming to Japanese stores
Sony's one-of-a-kind FES Watch is about to become more than a clever crowdfunded idea. The mostly e-paper timepiece is going on sale in Tokyo at Omotesando's MoMA Design Store on November 21st, when it will cost you a not-completely-unreasonable ¥29,700 ($241). It'll reach the city's Isetan boutique more than a week later, on December 1st. There's no mention of retail launches elsewhere in the world, but something tells us that you'll have to order it online (either through Sony's First Flight or the MoMA store) if you want any hope of strapping on this customizable wristwear outside of Japan.
Sony outfits the SmartBand Talk with an e-paper screen and voice calling
When does a fitness band become a smartwatch? We'd argue that an e-paper display is one feature you can use to make that distinction, which is exactly what Sony's added to its "lifelogging" SmartBand. A display isn't the only thing new about the SmartBand Talk, because as the name suggests, you can also make/take calls on the wearable thanks to an embedded microphone and loudspeaker. You can only do this when paired with a smartphone, of course, which will also respond to a limited number of other voice commands barked through the wearable. There's an ARM Cortex-M4 32-bit processor to power the whole thing, with 2MB of flash memory and that 1.4-inch black-and-white display to keep you updated on progress. As you might expect, a Core is at work here as well, with edge-mounted volume and menu buttons to round out the onboard controls. And yes, you can swap out the band as the need arises. The IP68 waterproof and dustproof wearable connects to any Android 4.4 (and above) device via NFC and Bluetooth to wrangle tasks for up to three days before needing a charge. If you're looking to get a bit more active, €160 (around $210) will be the cost of admission when the SmartBand Talk arrives this fall in four different color options.
Distro Issue 105: The tale of the amazing multi-colored e-paper display
Once upon a time, the possibility of a color e-reader seemed a reality just around the bend. As the sun set on the 2000s, though, prototypes and the potential for multi-hued e-paper devices seemed to disappear. In this issue of our weekly, Sean Buckley examines the events surrounding the once bright future of the tech and why we're still e-reading in black-and-white. As far as reviews go, we offer up our detailed analysis of the TiVo Roamio Pro, OLPC XO Tablet and Motorola Droid Ultra. Eyes-On peeks at Blue Microphone's latest, Weekly Stat examines the broadband build-up and Recommended Reading profiles Marissa Mayer. The weekend is finally here, and there's plenty to peruse, so go on cozy up with a fresh copy via the usual download spots. Distro Issue 105 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Sony's 13.3-inch e-ink paper prototype shown off at education expo in Japan (video)
Earlier this week, we learned of Sony's plans for a 13.3-inch e-ink slate with stylus support pitched at students, and now Diginfo has caught up with the prototype device at the Educational IT Solutions Expo in Japan. The A4-sized tablet is said to be the first piece of hardware with an E Ink Mobius display that's flexible and light due to its new plastic construction. Co-developed by Sony and E Ink, the display only contributes 60g to the overall weight, which is apparently 50 percent lighter than similar screens built with glass. Sony says the software isn't quite as slick as it'd like it to be just yet, but nevertheless, you can check out people scrawling, annotating and highlighting on the prototype in the video below.
Sony reveals prototype 13.3-inch e-ink slate with stylus, aims to put it in students' bags
Sony's no stranger to the odd e-ink device, but its latest prototype creation isn't targeted at the bookworm, it's intended to educate. The e-paper slate is quite a lot bigger than most tablets, let alone e-readers, sporting a 13.3-inch screen (1,200 x 1,600) to match the standard A4 size of normal, boring paper. That display is also an electromagnetic induction touchscreen for poking at menus and scrolling, but more importantly, it supports stylus input for scrawling notes and annotating PDFs (the only file format it currently supports). The prototype device is also only 6.8mm (0.27 inch) thick and weighs 358g (12.6 ounces) -- perfect for slipping into school bags. There's 4GB of on-board storage (with a microSD slot to increase that) and WiFi, which Sony plans to use for sharing notes with those who didn't make it to class on time. With WiFi off, the rechargeable battery inside is expected to last for three weeks of solid learning. These specs are for the prototype, of course, so after the late-2013 field trials at three Japanese universities, we might see some revisions before commercialization goes ahead sometime during the 2013 fiscal year.
Korean bendy memory could make plenty of trendy tech
Flexible displays aren't much good unless there's flexible memory alongside. It's been attempted before, but bending memory pushes the individual transistors so close that they begin to interfere with one another -- causing degradation and shortening the device lifespan to just a single day. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has solved the problem by pairing transistors with memristors, which are immune to such annoyances. By fixing both inside a flexible substrate, you can push them as near as you like without any electo-radiation spanners jamming up the works. This also means that the flexible RRAM behaves just like flash memory; maybe in the future it won't just be antennas sewn into our clothes.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: electric airplanes, CO2-storing bricks and solar-powered bags
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This week green architecture boldly went where no buildings have gone before as Inhabitat reported on Jordan's plans for a $1.5 billion Star Trek theme park that will be powered by alternative energy. We also showcased plans for a spiraling self-sufficient skyscraper that generates its own water, food, and power, and we took a first look at a shimmering office complex in India crowned with a digital eye. Meanwhile, GE launched a shining solar-powered carousel in Manhattan and a team of researchers developed a new breed of CO2-storing bricks that are 2.5 times stronger than concrete. In other news, high-flying green vehicles charted the horizon as Pipistrel introduced the world's most powerful electric airplane and an incredible human-powered helicopter broke a world record. We also saw Ohio State unveil plans for the 400 MPH Buckeye Bullet 3 and we showcased designs for a stunning concept car with a segmented transforming skin. Autonomous vehicles were a hot topic as well -- London's Heathrow airport rolled out a set of electric personal transportation pods, and China's Hongqui unveiled a driverless car to compete with Google's vehicle (which crashed this week). It was also a big week for wearable technology as researchers developed new breed of stick-on tattoos that can track body functions and we took a look at a sonic fabric bag made from recycled audio tapes. Finally, we got set for the start of the academic year by bringing you six of the best solar-powered bags, an innovative new breed of e-paper that doesn't require electricity, and we launched a blowout back to school contest where you could win $1155 in green school supplies -- including a photovoltaic backpack and a HP Pavilion laptop.
Erasable e-paper shown off, erased, shown off again (video)
Researchers at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute are giving the world a peek at i2R, a new type of easily erasable e-paper. The technology uses a thermal printer and cholestric liquid crystals, letting users write and erase its contents up to 260 times. It can print different colored inks and could potentially be used for things like ID badges and signage. The sheets currently cost around $2 a piece to produce and should be available to us consumer types in about two years.
Sony shows off, folds up super flexible organic TFT display
E-reader manufacturers are doing their darnedest to get their devices to behave more like the old fashioned books we've all since abandoned, but we won't be happy until we can roll one up and stuff it in our back pockets, paperback-style. Sony's working hard to make that dream a reality -- the company showed off some new bendable display technology behind closed doors at last week's SID conference in LA, including a color unit and the extremely flexible black and white e-paper display seen above, which can be bent to a 5mm curvature radius. The 13.3-inch sheet has a 1,600 x 1,200 (150ppi) resolution and is powered by organic TFTs. Sony showed off and bent the thing at the show, reportedly to the cheers of the crowd in attendance. Clearly they're all as excited as we are to make some really expensive e-paper airplanes. For more shots of the bending process, consult the source link below.
Sony unveils flexible color e-paper, new glasses-free 3D LCD displays at SID 2011
We saw some fancy panels and flashy lights on the show floor at SID this week, but Sony decided to keep its latest display offerings tucked away in an academic meeting. We're getting word today from Tech-On! that the outfit unveiled a 13.3-inch sheet of flexible color e-paper as well as two new glasses-free 3D panels in a separate session at the conference. New e-paper solutions loomed large at SID, but we were surprised by the lack of flexible screens. Sony's managed to deliver both on a display that weighs only 20 grams and measures a mere 150-microns thick, a feat made possible by the use of a plastic substrate. The sheet boasts a 13-percent color gamut, 10:1 contrast ratio, and 150dpi resolution. As for the 3D LCD displays, Sony joined a slew of other manufacturers in showing off its special brand of the panels. These new displays, ranging from 10-inches to 23-inches, apparently employ a new method for delivering 3D to the naked eye. This particular method uses a backlight positioned between an LCD panel and another backlight for 2D images, and can be easily be switched off for 2D viewing. Of course we would have liked to see these screens in the flesh, but alas, Sony decided to play coy. Hop on past the break for a shot of the new 3D panel.
Ricoh's new electronic paper promises greater brightness, enhanced color
Color E Ink technology still has some kinks to work out, but Ricoh thinks it may have just taken a big step forward with its latest display. The company's electronic paper, introduced at SID this week, promises to reproduce images that are 2.5 times brighter than competitors' offerings, while covering a color range that's four times wider. To achieve this, Ricoh used a simple lamination method, layering three strips of electrochromic material between two substrates. Unfortunately, however, there's no indication that the technology will be commercially available anytime soon, as Ricoh still needs to incorporate its e-paper onto more practical screen sizes, as well as enhance the display's durability -- both of which sound like pretty major hurdles to us. Full press release after the break.
E Ink and Epson to co-develop 9.7-inch high-res 300ppi electronic paper display
It's pretty obvious that this year's SID Display Week is shaping up to be a stage for the 300ppi extravaganza -- Samsung and LG were first to announce their latest high pixel density LCDs, and then Toshiba chimed in with its 367ppi LCD for cellphones. Fortunately, fans of ePaper will also have something to look forward to here, as E Ink Holdings and Epson have just announced the co-development of a 300ppi ePaper display. To be exact, E Ink will be in charge of producing the sharp-looking 9.68-inch 2,400 x 1,650 display panel, whereas Epson will take care of the high-speed display controller platform to go with E Ink's part. No availability has been announced just yet, but stay tuned for our eyes-on impression at the show.
