Gizmodo: E Ink

LIVRE, a Compromise on the E-book

Mark Wilson — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:31:44 EST

While those who are born into a world of e-books won't miss much, there are a few generations of paper-readers who might still need some convincing. The LIVRE, a concept for a more tactile friendly e-book, first looks like a chunky version of Sony's Reader. But the design is actually fairly inspired.

Our favorite feature is that which we thought the most ludicrous upon first glance—that bulky case. But there's a method to the madness. The case is constructed of flexible silicon, an attempt to re-create the soft feel of a book and offer some tactile enjoyment to the sterile feel of e-books.

Also of note, the concept calls for multitouch page flicking. Of course, it's a cheap idea to throw into the design since, trust us, if e-paper/e-ink technology had anywhere near the response time to make touch controls feasible, Amazon and Sony would be on the trend in a heartbeat. [LIVRE via engadget]

Writeable, Color e-paper ReKindles Our Interest

Mark Wilson — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:05:49 EST

Fuji Xerox has just demonstrated what may be the Holy Grail of e-paper—probably not the "E-Ink" technology found inside the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader, but something similar—a prototype display that a user and write on. Three layers of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals are used (red, green and blue), meaning the display has a gel-like base.

Still flexible, the display can recognize "optical" writing, though probably not quickly. An eyes-on report mentions that the refresh rate is under a second, which while probably fast enough for quick marks, is not what you want to be handwriting a letter on. But we just had our boobie doodles in mind anyway. [techon]

E Ink Improves Contrast and Refresh Rate for E Books

Charlie White — Thu, 10 May 2007 10:30:00 EDT

We really like the idea of ebooks, but their low contrast and pokey refresh rate just about ruins the experience when using devices such as the Sony PRS-500 Reader pictured above. Now, Cambridge, Massachusetts, company E Ink, the inventor of this tech, has decided to spruce it up with a higher-performance imaging film it calls Vizplex.

If what the company is saying is true, expect to see ebook displays refreshing twice as quickly, with 20% better contrast, too. The company's also planning to roll out a wider variety of screen sizes other than the single 6-inch size it currently offers, from 1.9 inches aimed at cellphones and MP3 players, up to 9.7 inches for bigger ebooks. We might be seeing the results of this latest technology as early as this summer. – Charlie White

E Ink displays upgraded imaging film technology [EE Times]

blueChute: E Ink Concept

Mark Wilson — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 13:34:39 EDT

The E Ink blueChute concept is just what e-ink (confused?) needs to get us excited again. Sure, it has all those energy efficient and ease of reading benefits just like its predecessors, but never before have we seen e-ink displays with this combination of sexiness and general utility—plus we could always use another eye chart.

The inventor points out that at just 5mm thick, the blueChute is thinner than a Nano, while still making room for a MicroSD slot and Bluetooth. So not only is the design very portable, but its functions can include email/weather/news streaming (say from your phone) on top of the traditional Daniel Steel eBook stereotypes.

More pictures after the jump.

– Mark Wilson

blueChute [via engadget]