Technical / Research - Page 7

We're proud to announce our first Kindle game software: Nonograms. Nonograms (also known as Griddlers or Paint By Numbers) are simple yet challenging Japanese logic puzzle games in which your goal is to uncover the hidden black and white picture. Download this exciting game now for $2.99! If you like SuDoKu puzzles, you'll surely love Nonograms.

The puzzles contain a grid with number clues on the sides that help to reveal the hidden picture. The numbers measure how many blocks of black square there are in any given row and column, and the size of these blocks.

Freescfale announced three new members of the i.MX50 product family that enable compelling end devices featuring LCD and/or e-paper displays (EPDs). The e-paper handling ones are the i.MX507 and i.MX508 products - that has different levels of graphics capabilities for targeted EPD markets.

Freescale plans to offer an i.MX50 evaluation kit (EVK), as well as an e-reader reference design. Both development solutions include customized board support packages to streamline development. Samples of the i.MX507 are available now and start at $9.97 suggested resale for 10K units.

Fujitsu is showing a new color e-paper eReader prototype - with a 4096 colors, 8" display (157 PPI that offers 8:1 contrast ratio. This is a linux-based system with a new fast processor (refresh rate of 0.7 seconds) and ePub and PDF support. It weights only 220 grams.

This new prototype probably uses Fujitsu's "improved" e-paper technology announced back in May 2010.

E Ink are showing a new credit card with a small E Ink display. It is used to display a generated secure transaction code with the press of a button. The battery lasts for 3 years. Apparently they're already producing and shipping these in Korea:

Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is showing new large (100x24cm) flexible e-paper based on Cholesteric LCD. It's shaped like a scroll - printed on what seems to be a red/gold fabric.

According to reports, this display is very power efficient and doesn't seem pixelated at all. The monochrome display itself is showing some Chinese characters (translated as 'establish country 100 years', apparently, referring to the overthrow of the Ch'ing dynasty in 1911). It seems that this is a segmented display and not a matrix display. It's a shame that we do not have any technical info on this display yet.

Delta Electronics is showing their e-paper roadmap for 2011-2014. The company is ready to mass produce color e-paper panels - up to 21" in size. These panels have been showed earlier this month. The company will improve the color count from 4096 to 16.7M by next year, and will also improve the panel's reflectivity and writing method (which will make them faster). By 2012 the company will be able to make 32" e-paper panels.

The more interesting news is that the company has start sample production of flexible e-paper displays. by 2012 they will start 'semi-production' of 10" panels - and mass production will start in 2014.

Portugal's Ynvisible won a grant from the Portuguese National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN) to help develop electrochromic displays. The total project is valued at over €1 million. Ynvisible's electrochromic ink technology is aimed towards packaging, advertising, print media, signage and smart wearables. Initial products will include point-of-sale posters and advertising.

Our sister-site OLED-Info launched a new book today - The OLED Handbook. This is a comprehensive guide to OLED technology, market and industry. There is a growing interest in OLEDs - from all over the world, and this guide can help introduce the subject quickly and throughly.

Reading this book, you'll learn all about:

• OLED technology and materials
• What kind of OLED displays are available today
• What is a Super AMOLED and a Clear Black display
• All about OLED lighting technology
• OLED lighting panels and lamps available today
• The future of OLED displays and lighting
• And lot's more!

Polymer Vision is showing a new flexible/bendable E Ink prototype. The display offer 800x600 resolution:

The company says that you can bend this display over 25,000 times (6mm radius). We do not know if they're any closer to commercializing this. The company went bankrupt in 2009 and was later bought and now they seem back into flexible displays, and apparently still working towards a an e-reader...

Hanvon unveiled new touch technology called ERT (Electromagnetic Resonance Touch). ERT can sense both pen input and finger touch - and is placed beneath the display panel and not above it like normal touch layers. It works by adding several capacitors to a normal digitizer touch sensor.

Hanvon plans to commercialize this technology in its e-readers (for the Chinese market) by 2H 2011.