As I mentioned in my e-audiobook posts, e-books don’t seem to be catching on.
At least, that’s what everyone tells me.
And it makes sense.
I’ve never used one and have no plans to start using them as things are now.
Personally, I prefer audiobooks, followed by real books, with eBooks coming in at a distant third place.
But there is some technology which is largely under the radar still which I think could change everything.
It’s called e-paper (electronic paper) or sometimes electronic ink. It's a display technology designed to replicate the look of normal ink and paper. Unlike the LCD screens of computer monitors and PDAs, e-paper isn't a backlit display, which are notoriously hard on the human eye. Instead, e-paper reflects light just like an ordinary piece of paper. It can also be bent and crumpled just like regular paper, though it's typically a bit thicker than standard office paper, more like construction paper. The especially cool part is the power it uses. An electric current is needed to change what the paper is displaying, but once changed, the display remains without any additional power being used. In other words, e-paper only uses electricity when you "turn the page" in your e-book or whatever else you're viewing on it. And of course, refinements and advances are continuing to be made. There is already color e-paper, and kinds and even support video (though the quality is fairly poor at the moment).
This has been making news for several years, popping up in the occasional tech article on upcoming technology. So far though, it has seen very little commercial use. A few newspapers are experimenting with it and one cellphone model uses e-paper for its display. And every year, companies and analysts promise "it's just a couple years away". Still, it is coming, and it could bring about a revolution in libraries some thought (or feared) e-books would. The holy grail at this point is to create an e-paper book. Imagine a book which looks and feels almost exactly like a regular book, but there's a small memory chip in the spine. A touch of a button could switch the print in the book between any of the dozens of titles stored in memory, with more books easily downloaded off the Internet.
I have no idea what that would mean for libraries, or even the publishing industry as we know it, but I have to admit... that's pretty damn cool.
-Joe
3 comments:
I'd heard of it, but never bothered to check it out. Thanks for getting a picture of it!
My one question is: what is it made of? Are there any hazardous materials (e.g. the lead in CRT monitors) that pose a threat to the environment?
I've been very interested in following this development, too. I keep trying to imagine having a newspaper subscription and having my paper change every day. What if I didn't get a chance to read something the day before? I don't know how e-paper would handle it.
Wow, that is interesting! I guess that might help me with my tendency to "peek ahead" when I'm reading, but I still think there's something about holding a real book in my hands that I won't be ready to give up.
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