Plastic Logic e-book reader: now with 3G

plastic logic posts




U.K.-based Plastic Logic has announced that it has secured some $100 million in funding to build the world's first factory dedicated to manufacturing plastic electronics on a commercial scale. More specifically, the factory's set to produce flexible active matrix display modules, aimed at making various electronic reading devices a little more portable and a little less hard on the eyes. According to the company, the plant will be built in Dresden, Germany, with production set to ramp up sometime in 2008 at an initial capacity of more than a million display modules per year.
Considering that only one E Ink display has made it into a major device on the US market so far, and virtually zero flexible display devices exist, you wouldn't think there'd be as much crazy competition surrounding the various related technologies to this eensy commercial space. Still, that hasn't stopped us from drooling on these technologies since forever, and Plastic Logic just keeps plugging away at them pixels. They've just upped their flexible active matrix game to 150ppi, nearing on a workable newspaper resolution, but still a fair bit away from truly matching paper and ink for sharpness and contrast. The E Ink-display is just part of long line of prototype displays from Plastic Logic, but a commercial display is still a good bit off -- they're hoping to mass produce a 10-inch 150ppi flexible display in 2008.






