Electronic-paper newspapers are here
08 / 09 / 2008
Electronic paper, also called e-paper, is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike a conventional flat panel display, which uses a backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity, while allowing the [...]
Electronic paper, also called e-paper, is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike a conventional flat panel display, which uses a backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity, while allowing the image to be changed later.
The concept of electronic paper is credited to physicist Nick Sheridon. In 1975, shortly after he joined the staff of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Centre, Sheridon was inspired by the thought of electronic books and magazines but noted that monitors were bulky and difficult to read. Sheridon says he thought “that instead of replacing paper with the monitor, it might be smarter to replace the monitor with a new type of paper”. He developed a prototype electronic ink which he called Gyricon, from the Greek word for rotating images. Gyricon used tiny charged spheres that were half black, half white. An electronic ‘message’ oriented the balls so that letters were formed. The manufacture of the spheres, the rigidity required to transfer the electric message and the expense caused Xerox to shelve this project in 1977.
The electronic newspaper, is a large portable screen that is constantly updated with the latest news and has been a prop in science fiction for ages. It also figures in the dreams of newspaper publishers struggling with rising production and delivery costs, lower circulation and decreased ad revenue from their printed product.
As an electronic device, newspapers can determine who is picking up and reading their paper, and even the point of sale – newstand, which articles are being read and so on and so forth. Advertisers would be able to understand their audience and direct advertising to its likeliest customers. Although this raises a lot of privacy concerns, these are future possibilities that need to be explored.
Plastic Logic will introduce its version of an electronic newspaper reader: a lightweight plastic screen that mimics the look of a printed newspaper. It can be continually updated via a wireless link, and can store and display hundreds of pages of newspapers, books and documents.
08 / 09 / 2008 | |
