E-Ink goes full colour

E Ink holdings, the display-maker best known for providing screens to Amazon.com's Kindle e-readers, has announced a full colour screen. The company has dubbed the new technology "Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP)" and says it's pulled off the trick by placing "all the colored pigments in every picture element (pixel) rather than …

[AlexV]

Can we have it in slightly smaller sizes too?

Would make for a great photo frame. Slow 2s refresh is no problem at all. Low DPI not great, but not awful. It would be nice if it could be made solar, so it just charges itself up from ambient light until it has enough power to switch to the next photo, then goes dormant until it's gathered enough charge again.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone seen specs or estimated prices?

How quickly can they update? How does the price compare to an LCD screen?

I assume they are slow, which is why they are targeting digital signage, but they still have to be cheaper than the alternatives. Otherwise you are giving away the ability to play videos in your signs for a pretty small savings in power.

[simmondp]

Re: Anyone seen specs or estimated prices?

Agreed, but digital signage for the open-air (full sunlight) is at stupid pricing, so not needing to do video is fine if they can get the price down to a regular indoor digital signage panel.

[Francis Boyle]

Re: Anyone seen specs or estimated prices?

In most locations video makes no sense as you're targeting people on the move and in fact it may be dangerously distracting. Anything that makes video signage relatively less attractive is a good thing in my book.

[Bronek Kozicki]

According to Business Wire, this display can be seen today and tomorrow at Moscone Center in San Francisco, booth #521, more information at conference website

[Neoc]

finally

I'm all for it - I love my e-reader to bits and if there's two things wrong with it it's that:

(a) it's black and white only - I read tech manuals, magazines and comics (while B&W is great for most manga. it's lousy for most European comics); and

(b) the screens are too small - as well as manga, I also read a lot of French and Belgian BD (bandes desinees) which are generally printed on pages approaching the A4 size. I converted an old Samsung tablet, but trying to read an issue of Blake & Mortimer on a 10" screen is eye-straining (not to mention heavy, due to the battery).

So yes, I for one welcome our new colour eInk overlords.... assuming the make a decent screen size.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm stuck in bed most of the time now and I'm with Mortimer on the large screen size. Lowered power requirements should make for a lighter 20" screen which is my preferred size. 32K colors, 150 dpi is fine and I don't do video (TV or any other kind) so slow screen refresh required.

Strangely enough, Manga is interesting now. Just a bit ;-).