Flexible - Page 8

LG Display plans to begin mass production of color 9.7" e-paper panels, and 19" flexible monochrome ones (most likely both are based on E Ink). We don't know LG's plan for the displays, but we can assume they're targeting e-readers, and perhaps newspaper-sized ones, too (for the 19" flexible panels).

LG has unveiled their 19" flexible E Ink panels back in January (shown above). The panels are only 0.3mm thick, and weight just 130 grams. It uses metal foil, and so it can recover its original shape after being bent.

Sriram Peruvemba, VP of marketing at E-ink is showing new plastic-based flexible display prototypes. This is a long video, in which he also shows all sorts of other E Ink based displays :

LG Display says that they plan to become the top e-paper maker by 2012, worldwide - when they'll introduce a flexible, color e-paper panel. LG have shown a 19" flexible monochrome E Ink based panel back in January 2010.

LG Display has also entered into a partnership with iRiver to make e-readers. They hope to produce 1 million units in 2011.

3M say that they're gonna show their new Flexible Transparent Barrier (FTB) film at 2010 Society for Information Display (SID) exhibition. The FTB provides water vapor resistance to protect e-paper (or OLED) displays, will also be showcased.

E Ink is showing their next-generation e-paper technology. It will have better contrast, and will be able to show "animation" clips. It will be in production in the second half of 2010 (and obviously it'll take some time before real products start shipping with it, but they might start to appear towards the end of 2010). They still haven't got a name for that display...

HP has developed a new wearable E Ink display for the army that is flexible and solar-powered. It can be wrapped around a soldier's wrist, and could show maps or directions. The whole display is just 200 microns thick. HP plans to offer first prototypes in early 2011.

The E Ink displays will be manufactured using a roll-to-roll process. HP says it will work with a company called Phicot that it spun out recently to produce these displays.

PVI's chairman says that they plan to release color and flexible E Ink displays. They are also working on touch-enabled E Inks, and ones that support video. They predict that the market share of touch-capable e-readers will increase sharply in 2010. PVI wants to place the touch sensors behind the display, so image quality will be better.

PVI also reveals that E Ink's response time has increased, to the point where animation can be played.

IntertechPira and +plasticElectronics have announced an upcoming webinar (18 of February) called "e-readers and e-paper: technology and applications" that will discuss the evolution of e-paper for the e-reader market. The webinar will be given by Ian French, a principal scientist at Prime View International (PVI).

The webinar will provide an overview of e-readers to date, technology advances in three key areas: flexibility, color and video and will also discuss future applications for e-paper displays.

LG Display is showing a new 19" flexible E Ink prototype - that's almost as big as an A3-sized newpaper. It is only 0.3mm thin and weights only 130 grams. 

The display uses metal foil, and so it can recover its original shape after being bent. 

Skiff (owned by Hearst corporation) has announced their Skiff e-reader. It has the largest display of all current e-readers at 11.5". It's actually a flexible E Ink touchscreen, with a 1200x1600 pixel resolution.

The display is a rugged metal-foil on a flexible stainless-steel substrate. It is made by LG Display (who licensed E Ink just a few days ago). Skiff say that it's shatter-proof and crack-proof.