E Ink - Page 20

Plastic Logic, the OTFT backplane developer and EPD producer has split into two companies. Plastic Logic will remain as an EPD developer and producer (based in Dresden, Germany) while FlexEnable (based in Cambridge, UK) will handle the OTFT backplane development and offer technology licenses to display makers.

Here's an article from OLED-Info explaining Plastic Logic's technology. In September 2014 Plastic Logic demonstrated the world's first display based on a graphene backplane (a 150-PPI active-matrix E Ink panel).

Samsung is set to release the Galaxy S6 in 2015 (some said at around March), and there are reports that the company will offer an add-on case that will include a secondary E Ink screen.

Other rumored features include a blood glucose sensor, 20mp camera, 64-bit CPU, fingerprint scanner and a flexible OLED display (probably in a premium model).

Latvian-based Draugiem Group launched a Kickstarter campaign with an aim to develop Displio, small customizable Wi-Fi enabled display. Displio uses a 2.7" E Ink display and can last for a month on a single charge.

Draugiem aims to raise $65,000 (they already have $31,000 committed) and if successful, they aim to ship the first products in Jun 2015.

A month ago we reported about a new crowdfunding campaign by FES that aims to develop a smartwatch covered with E Ink panels. It turns out that Sony is behind this campaign - they created the fake FES company just to experiment with this idea and see whether it could become viral.

Sony did not confirm a release date for this watch. The campaign wasn't a great success, with 150 orders totaling 3.5 million yet (almost $30,000).

China-based GEAK launched a new watch called the GEAK Watch II, that uses two round displays - an LCD and an E Ink panel, on on top of the other. The transparent LCD sits on top of the E Ink. This enables a very efficient battery life - and GEAK says the battery will last for a week with light use or 3-4 days with "moderate" use.

Both displays are 1.36" in diameter (320x320 resolution, 254 PPI, apparently on both the E Ink and the LCD). The watch connects to your phone via Bluetooth and also includes several trackers (heart rate, air quality, step counter and more).

In January 2014, a company called Twelve24 (established by a former product manager at E Ink) launched their first product, a meter wide E Ink watch. Twelve24 is now launching a kickstarter campaign trying to raise $200,000. They already raised almost $50,000.

The Twelve24 ClockONE will cost $600, but for early backers on Kickstarter it starts at $400. The watch has a small Li-Ion button battery that will last for a year, and comes in five different colors. It will ship in May 2015.

The FES Watch is a new crowdfunding campaign in Japan that aims to develop a smartwatch that is covered with E Ink panels - not only for the watch face but also for the straps. This allows you to reach a high degree of customization while keeping power consumption low.

According to the company's plan, the FES Watch will ship in May 2015.

A couple of weeks ago we reported on the Plastc, a connected multi-card device that can store up to 20 debit, credit, identity or loyalty cards. You can pre-order Plastc now for $155, and today the company announced that it reached $5.2 million in presales already!

The Plastc uses a small touch E Ink display that shows card information, barcodes, QR codes, etc. The Plastc will ship in the summer of 2015 for $155.

E-reader maker Onyx is entering the Smartwatch market, and the company is showing a prototype watch with a 1.56" E Ink display. This watch has an always-on display (enabled by the fact that E Ink display do not consume power if the display is static). In the prototype there are 3 buttons and the display is not touch-enabled, but future version may include a touch display.

The Onyx watch will sync with your phone via Bluetooth and also include a fitness tracker. A GPS may be added to future versions. This device will not reach the market until 2015 "at the earliest".

If you're a writer and an E ink enthusiast (but then again, who isn't?), you'd probably be interested in the Fusion Writer, a new crowd-funding campaign that is trying to raise $50,000 for the development of a portable E Ink word processor.

Although still in early-design stages, the Fusion Writer is meant to perform as a dedicated word processor for writers of all kinds, presenting significant advantages such as very long battery life, excellent screen for indoor and outdoor use, thin and light casing, charging via USB or solar energy and a 13" display that can be reversed to cover the keyboard and create a large e-reader.