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Sharp may not do much in terms of ePaper, but they know their way around an LCD. And they've just shown off a new type of eight-colour LCD that can hold a static image even when the power is cut.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: e-ink and e-paper displays are getting pretty darn funky... especially when you look at NEC's nifty solution that actually tiles multiple units. In fact, NEC can now tile up to eight microcapsule electrophoresis e-ink displays into one large screen, up to a maximum A3 size. Crazily, this huge screen has only a 1mm border to it too. That means if you're prepared to accept a tiny bit of deadspace, you could perhaps tile those into a truly monster screen. There's little more info than a 10:1 contrast ratio—definitely no pricing or timings—but at least it gets our imaginations ticking over. E-ink broadsheet newspapers or wallpaper anyone? [Techon via Engadget]
Looks like I really wasn't wrong when I said e-paper is in the news: Samsung's just demonstrated its own funky e-paper tech, only this time the display uses carbon-nanotube electrode technology—also a technology that's in the news. The colour carbon nanotube active matrix electrophoretic display (say that after a few pints of beer) works by rearranging charged pigment particles with an electric field, and is one of the first large-scale colour displays of its type. Plus it has the advantage of being flexible as well as demanding low power. And since Samsung's display is 14.3-inches across, it's making our dreams of next-gen e-books even more tantalising. [Gizmag]
E-ink and e-paper are the display buzzwords of the moment, but generally the devices are mono colored... until now. And though KDDI showed a concept colour e-paper display recently, it looks like the first device to market sporting a coloured e-paper display will be an MP3 player from Freestyle Audio. Qualcomm have come up with the paper, and it works by having multiple layers in the display: light is partially reflected at each layer, and due to wavelength filtering and interference between the light the colours are generated. Choice of colour is achieved by varying the distance between the layers electrostatically. Clever stuff indeed...and of course it's instantly got us wondering about the possibilities for the Kindle 3. [TechnologyReview]
Needless to say, Esquire's recent e-ink cover stunt left most people a little disappointed when it hit newsstands. Enthusiasm grew a bit after word leaked out that Esquire expected people to hack the cover, but analysis of the dissected display revealed that there wasn't much opportunity for meaningful customisation outside of changing the timing for each section's blinking. Yeah, that's not all that exciting, but the folks at Hack-a-Day managed to make an interesting (but not super functional) e-paper clock this way—and you can too using their handy instructions. [Hack-a-Day]
As though the flood of WTF-type phone concepts weren't enough, KDDI revealed a proof of concept for a wireless, colour, e-paper display they have in the works. The idea is that a mobile phone would be used to broadcast a signal to the display via infrared. The 13.1-inch display can display up to 4,096 colours and refresh the onscreen image in 12 seconds. KDDI says the display is intended for the finance and insurance industries, where the need to view A4-sized documents are apparently key. [Tech-On]
In a panel at GigaOm's Mobilise conference today, Motorola VP of Applied Technology Fred Kitson revealed some prototype display technologies they have in the works, confirming the company has more on the mind than the damn RAZR. One phone prototype Kitson described involves an embedded projector that made use of 3 lasers that project on a wall, while another makes use of a headset display. He also made mention of home displays that could automatically detect your phone as you move into a target range, and dedicate a portion of that screen to your mobile.
Here is what the clunky Amazon Kindle should have been since the beginning: a simple, ultra-sleek full-page 8.5-inch by 11-inch electronic book and newspaper reader with a flexible plastic touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and the ability to read regular Office documents without conversion of any kind. As we said yesterday, Plastic Logic showed it at the Demo Fall 08 conference in San Diego. Seeing it up close and on its side makes me want to have one. Badly.
The Blu Jacket concept from Lunar Design aims to turn our children's children into walking billboards using an electronic fabric based on e-paper technology and space-age organic fabrics. It could display your mood throughout the day, pull up maps using a built-in GPS module, display photos, video and (gasp) even advertisements.
If you had a slap bracelet back in the day (and I am ashamed to admit that I did), you will surely enjoy this concept device from the Chocolate Agency. Imagine a full-fledged multimedia device that can be slapped on and worn like a wristband. It would feature an e-paper surface and a battery that can be recharged using kinetic energy. Unfortunately, imagining it is all you can really do, because this sort of device is a massive pipe dream at the moment. But there is nothing wrong with thinking big. [Yanko Design]
