Archive for the ‘flexible screen ereaders’ tag
Skiff eReader 2 comments
We now have more details about the Skiff ereader. This is a large format ereader primarily intended for reading newspapers and periodicals. Newspapers appear to be displayed in a similar format to the actual paper copy.
The display is a very spacious 11.5 inches with a resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels. The display is built on a stainless steel foil base designed by LG
Display and is flexible, shatter-proof and crack-proof. It is a touchscreen that accepts both finger and stylus input. The ereader’s overall dimensions are 9 inches x 11 inches and just over 1/4 inch thin. Weight is just over 17 1/2 ounces, which is a little less than the Kindle DX’s 18.9 ounces.
The Skiff will have 3G via Sprint as well as WiFi. There is 4GB internal memory and an SD-card slot for adding more storage.
The Skiff ereader will be presented at CES later this week, but won’t go on sale until later in the year at Sprint retail stores. Pricing and other sales outlets won’t be disclosed until later.
It appears that the main source of content will be the yet to come Skiff Store, which “will sell and distribute newspapers, magazines, books, blogs and other content … from multiple publishers across a range of devices.” It sounds like newspapers and periodicals distributed by Skiff will also contain advertising, which Amazon’s Kindle versions don’t and which obviously the publishers would like to have included. Kindle newspapers also don’t include most of the photos, graphs, etc. Skiff ereader versions appear to have most of the graphics of the paper editions.
Skiff, formerly FirstPaper, is a spin-off of Hearst.
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Plastic e-Ink Screens On Schedule for 2010 no comments
The Financial Times (via A Kindle World) is reporting that Prime View International, which makes e-ink screens for most of the current ereaders, has said that it is on track to release plastic e-ink screens in 2010.
The glass ereader screens which are in use now are prone to cracking. A relatively unbreakable screen would help pave the way for Kindle for Kids and the acceptance of ereaders for use in our school systems.
In a recent post about some upcoming technology affecting ereaders I said that I would be very surprised if the next Kindles did not have unbreakable screens – it looks like there is a very good chance that that was more than just wishful thinking on my part.
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eReaders in 2010 no comments
2009 has been a great year for fans of ereaders despite the poor economy (they call this an economy?) and all of the associated pain that it has caused so many people. We have had some great ereaders introduced like the Kindle 2, the Kindle Global
Almost every week another tech company announces another me-too ereader. Most of these new gadgets are undifferentiated in terms of features, but the increased competition is driving prices down and forcing the leaders such as Amazon to rapidly add improvements to their existing ereaders. This rapid proliferation of devices may be confusing to many would-be buyers, but in the end the competition and increased choice is good for consumers who take the time to research their buys.
Of course, if your nook is now not going to arrive until next year you will not be so upbeat, but cheer up! You could always buy yourself something like a Zhu Zhu Pet
2010 looks even better, with lots of new tech on the way. The way in which Amazon has parried the competition by means of feature upgrades rather than introducing a brand new Kindle ereader for the holidays suggests to me that they are planning on including some of this new tech in the next Kindle when it’s ready. Lets take a look at some of the more promising technology which should arrive at an ereader near you in 2010.
Faster eReader Hardware
Faster hardware for ereaders means faster page turns and quicker navigation and library management. Marvell has partnered with e-Ink to integrate their Armada SoC into ereaders in the near future. Not only is this new hardware faster (page turns up to three times faster), but since it integrates multiple features including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 3G modem and power management on one SoC it will help to bring manufacturing costs down, which will mean cheaper ereaders.
Marvell’s Armada system is also designed to offer fast renderings of high resolution PDF documents, so we should see improvements in PDF handling in next gen ereaders.
Some of the already announced ereaders on the horizon that utilize the Armada SoC include the Plastic Logic Que, Spring Design Alex and the enTourage eDGe. I’m pretty sure that we can expect the next gen Kindle ereaders to be on this list as well.
Flexible eReader Displays
I would also be very surprised if the Kindle 3 
and Kindle DX 2 don’t make use of flexible displays. By flexible display I’m not talking about an ereader that you can wrap around your wrist and wear like a watch. Flexible displays use plastic and are relatively unbreakable, as compared with today’s easily cracked glass ereader screens.
There are several manufacturers working on flexible ereader displays, including e-Ink, which makes most of the screens for current ereaders. Even Bridgestone (yes, the tire company) is working on flexible electronic paper. Plastic Logic’s Que also uses a flexible e-ink screen. You won’t be able to bend the screen as in the photo (courtesy Plastic Logic), but it will be shatterproof.
Flexible ereader screens will no doubt also pave the way for ereaders for children. Parents will obviously feel more comfortable buying such an expensive piece of technology for their kids if it is not so fragile. We could well see a Kindle for Kids next year. On the other hand, I can imagine that some manufacturers may not want to open this particular can of bookworms. Even though a credit card is required to open an ebook account, I would not be surprised if we have congressional hearings and demands for ebook ratings. Next thing you know – ereaders with V-Chips.
Color eReaders
For the average person who mostly reads novels, color screens are probably not a necessity, although being able to see the book cover and graphics in color would definitely be a welcome feature. Color becomes much more important for etextbooks and for reading periodicals and other graphics-rich content on ereaders. This is also a feature that will make ereaders appeal to more people and help the devices to become more mainstream.
It is increasingly looking likely that we will see color ereaders on the shelves by the 2010 holiday season. I’m guessing that it’s not very likely that the next Kindle generation will have color, but probably Kindle 4 and Kindle DX 3 will.
There are a number of color technologies being developed for ereaders, but perhaps one of the more interesting ones is Qualcomm’s Mirasol. This technology was apparently inspired by the iridescence of butterfly wings. Qualcomm has said that Mirasol color ereaders that are also capable of video playback are on track to ship by the end of 2010.
It also looks good for Pixel Qi screens to hit the market in 2010, and it is very likely we will see ereaders with this display technology. Pixel Qi displays can switch between a transmissive mode (like a regular LCD screen on your laptop) and a reflective mode (like an e-ink display). This type of display should be cheaper than a regular LCD display and also use less power. In its reflective mode it does use more power than an e-ink display, so ereaders using this tech will probably need charging more often than current e-ink based solutions. This type of display would no doubt make great notebooks that can double as ereaders.
An Increasingly Crowded eReader Market
The ereader market will no doubt continue to be swamped by a flood of me-too devices with few stand out features to differentiate between them.
We will as well see an increasing number of multipurpose devices that also claim ebook reading as one of their functions. This type of device especially seems to appeal to non-hardcore readers who cannot imagine buying a device specifically for reading.
Convergence and multi-functionality can be a good thing; it can make devices more versatile and useful, and it can cut down on the number of devices that you need to buy and carry with you. If you do a lot of reading though (and most people find themselves reading more after buying an ereader), you want to make sure that the reading screen is paper-like and not backlit. Reading a book on an LCD screen is kind of like looking into a flashlight – it’s okay for awhile, but it gets tiresome if you read for longer periods of time. Many serious readers will also not want a device that is constantly providing distractions to their reading.
There are several convergence devices already announced and supposedly on the way.
Asus has said that it is making a dual screen “ereader” that was supposed to be out by the end of this year. This device seems like more of a netbook with two screens than an ereader. If it were to make use of a Pixel Qi screen however it could prove to be interesting.
Many people seem to be waiting for the much rumored about Apple tablet. It remains to be seen however how well it will serve as an ereader. I suspect that it will be like reading on a larger version of the iPod Touch – perfectly okay for casual reading, but hard on your eyes if you do plan to read a lot of books on it. There are some rumors that Apple will have at least two versions of its tablet, and that the more expensive version will have an OLED screen which doesn’t need backlighting and is therefore better for reading on.
One interesting looking multipurpose device is the enTourage eDGe. This gadget has an LCD screen and netbook capabilities along with an e-ink screen for reading. Below is an interesting video of the enTourage eDGe, which appears to be aimed at students. It definitely has a very robust set of study tools.
Finally, one trend that I wish would not continue into 2010 is the naming conventions that many companies are using to name their ereaders. Surely we can do better than the seemingly random series of letters and numbers and awkwardly capitalized names that are in vogue at the moment. I guess though, that in a world where even pizzas have names like Mega XL it’s a bit much to ask.
