Pebble's E Ink watch started shipping to Kickstarter backers last week and Engadget already posted a review - a very positive one in fact. That say that it's been a pleasure to use and the implemented features work well - although functionality (currently) is quite limited. It's also an excellent value according to Engadget, especially for early Kickstarter backers.
E Ink is showing some new color Triton (Gen 2) E Ink prototypes, including one with front light. The displays are getting better, they say it's now almost like LCDs. Even though quality is better, and production costs have gone done, E Ink still does not see mass adoption of these panels by e-reader makers any time soon.
E Ink managed to get the color filters closer to the E Ink microcapsules, which means that more light is reflected from the displays. Coupled with the front-light technologies, the displays look better then before.
CST is showing their new CST-01 ultra-thin, flexible E Ink watch. The whole device is just 0.8 mm thick and weighs just 12 grams. It can full charge in 10 minutes (and runs for about one month). The lifespan is said to be about 15 years. Here's our friend Sriram Peruvemba (E Ink's marketing chief) showing this very cool phone:
CST just raised over $300,000 on Kickstarter to start production (the project goal of $200,000 was reached within 48 hours).
Intel, Plastic Logic and Canada's Queen's University have collaborated to create a flexible paper-like tablet, based on Plastic Logic's 10.7" flexible touch E Ink displays and Intel's Core i5 processors. A user can use several PaperTabs devices at the same time, and these can interact between them, as can be seen in the video below:
Roel Vertegaal, a director in Queen's University's human media lab estimates that most computers will look and feel like that - within five to ten years. It's likely that the displays will be full-color ones, probably based on OLED technology.
Here's a very cool E Ink display idea - PopSLATE is an upcoming project (trying to raise $150,000 at IndieGogo, currently they have almost $80,000) that aims to develop an iPhone 5 cover with an E Ink display:
In the beginning, they will only support Instagram (so you can show a photo on the E Ink display), but later on the will provide an API so more applications can use the screen. Pretty cool. They save they have "strong support: from E Ink, and hopefully they'll manage to raise enough money to start developing this.
E Ink just shared this funny new video, comparing E Ink e-readers to tablets for reading applications. They discuss the usual E Ink advantages (lower power and good readability under direct light) - but they also say that your e-reader is better than your tablet for reading - because it does not distract you with emails, messages and videos. The motto is "E Ink is the best for focused reading, anything less is a distraction":
Maybe I'm not objective, but I agree with them on that one. While most people prefer a tablet over an e-reader because it can do much more, I personally prefer my Kindle (the new paperwhite one) to read. I love that it's low-power and low weight (I cannot understand how people can hold a 900 gram tablet for hours) and of course the E Ink display is great. I also think it's true that when you read, a device that is actually less capable will be better...
Researchers from the University of Tokyo developed a sort of e-paper display by using heat-sensitive ink on photochromic paper. Using lasers, the ink can be erased, and an ultraviolet projector overhead can be used to "print" new pixels. This is very slow but the laser is quite accurate (can erase a point of 0.0001 inch in size). The idea is that this can be used for collaboration - where on can draw on a paper and later others can add or erase stuff:
China's Onyx is working on an E Ink smartphone running Android. Obviously Android isn't perfect on E Ink (no color, slow refreshes) - but this is an interesting concept and might be quite usable for some people. Battery life is said to be around 1 week, but this will obviously depends on how much you talk and use the phone.
During IFA 2012 in September, E Ink themselves showed a prototype dual-screen smartphone with an LCD on side and an E Ink display on the other side. This is a really clever idea, but in the meantime we'll have to settle with Onyx's E Ink only phone...
E Ink is showing an interesting prototype at IFA 2012 - a smartphone that has two displays, an LCD and an E Ink - one on each side. The E Ink will be used for reading and showing "persistant" data such as network status, battery level and information that the user needs for a long time (such as boarding pass information). This will not only conserve the battery but also free up space on the main (LCD or OLED) display.
The most interesting thing is that E Ink says that several vendors are considering this idea, with at least one vendor that plans to release such a phone in 2013. We can't wait!
The Pebble E Ink watch team posted a video showing the upcoming Kickstarter-funded watch user interface (on a prototype watch with an E Ink display):