Sorry, we could not find the combination you entered »
Please enter your email and we will send you an email where you can pick a new password.
Reset password:
 

free

 
By Thomas Baekdal - October 2008

The Future of Epaper

Epaper technology has been around for a long time, but has not yet reached the right level of sophistication. It is used in popular devices such as the Amazon Kindle, but it only works in black and white, and page updates are fairly slow. That, however, is going to change.

Just take a look at this short clip from Vin Diesel's latest movie "Babylon A.D."

Loading Video
(Note: You need Flash 9+ to watch these videos)

This is of course not real. But this kind of technology is a lot closer than what you might think. The next generation epaper will not only support full color but also update fast enough to render video - or in this case dynamic interfaces.

One of the leading companies in this field is Liguavista. They are working on a technology called Electro wetting. This technology totally obliterates the LED's. It is a lot brighter, so bright that it can be used in sunlight conditions. Like all epaper it uses very little power. It is a lot better at rendering color. It can be viewed from any angle and it has a much better contrast. And, it is highly flexible and bendable.

Loading Video
(Note: You need Flash 9+ to watch these videos)

Another company, Qualcomm, has already created a working version of color epaper. And it is being used in this "underwater" MP3 player. While not the prettiest thing on the planet, it does work in sunlight conditions at any angle, and since it is a passive display it requires almost no power.

Imagine the possibilities you have when a screen has the same physical properties as paper, combined with advantages with the digital world. An display might no longer be a screen.

 
 
 

The Baekdal/Basic Newsletter is the best way to be notified about the latest media reports, but it also comes with extra insights.

Get the newsletter

Thomas Baekdal

Founder, media analyst, author, and publisher. Follow on Twitter

"Thomas Baekdal is one of Scandinavia's most sought-after experts in the digitization of media companies. He has made ​​himself known for his analysis of how digitization has changed the way we consume media."
Swedish business magazine, Resumé

 

—   trends   —

executive

trends:
The trend and future outlook for "brand+publisher", and how to make that work

plus

trends:
How scared should we be of AIs taking our jobs?

executive

trends:
What is the role of print in 2023?

executive

trends:
Advertising ... 10 years from now

executive

trends:
Advertising will always be a struggle unless we think like brands

executive

trends:
The trends currently favor media innovation