back to article Big and bendy e-ink displays on way

Plastic Logic will be ready to ship its long awaited portable and flexible e-ink display early next year, the firm has announced. Plastic_Logic Plastic Logic's screen is thin - and flexible First seen in 2006, the screen is based on E Ink technology - much like Sony’s Reader or Amazon’s Kindle – and measures 8.5 x 11in. A …

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  1. Pyros
    Joke

    Inquring minds...

    ...want to know is it waterproof?

    (As an aside, I'd buy one once it can do a proper RGB/CYMK color display.)

  2. Louis Savain

    Awesome

    This is pretty damn cool. Although I can't wait for the full-color, magazine quality version (hehe), this will do fine for browsing the news or reading a novel. Hopefully, it will have wi-fi internet capability.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Get it out for $200

    and they'll have a winner, but I'm sure it'll be near $600 with DRMed to hell files.

    Paris cos she knows what it's like to be screwed.

    Efros

  4. Anonymous from Mars

    It's about time.

    It's about time we got this. Please don't screw it up, guys.

  5. Antidisestablishmentarianist

    Black flash

    In many of he 'e-ink' style displays I've seen (including this one), when the display changes (i.e. change page), it flips all the balls to black before the new image/text is displayed. I hope you can optionally choose to flip to white as the black flash make me feel ill....

    Or maybe they chose black as the white _actually_ makes you ill....

  6. Matt Caldwell
    Heart

    Well....?

    Is it compatible with office suite files, or does it only support .pdf and .doc? Or worse, only .pdf and .docx?

    Guess I'll have to convert things to .pdf, I love this idea, and want one about 5 years ago.

  7. Dylan

    A pointer to the future

    See one in use 3 months ago (not sure if its the one due for release)

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=v226DYqlbHQ

    A bit big to carry around as a book but very very nice looking. You can see the way ebook readers are going.

    Take a look at the soon to be realeased Readius too http://www.readius.com/

    In a few short years e-ink devices will be small, flexible, powerful and will become very popular - imagine walking around with a small, foldable reader in your pocket that has internet connectivity - unroll/fold it and it becomes a book/magazine/newspaper/map/browser etc

    So I'll hold off for now and wait a couple of years I think.

    Dylan

    PS - Anyone see that interactive map used in Babylon AD ?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Excellent news - but why not A4?

    Yes, it is welcome news to have another player in this field, but I wonder why they

    have chosen a non-standard format. A4, being metric is a global standard whereas the size mentioned is (believe) used only in America - a niche market these days.

  9. Narlaquin
    Thumb Up

    Nerd-gasm!

    Oh gosh, that's cute. It looks like a 1980's chopping board, doesn't have a price, but by 'eck, I want one.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Easy gesture based interface?

    Oh, lordy... Lets just hope this works okay and isn't another PITA like WM5/6's half-assed gesture interface.

    And how long before we can write to them (not sure how... I guess you'd just use a special electrically charged pen to turn it black and have the control electronics "read" each bit at every page-turn... practical?)? E-ink notepad sounds like a good idea- especially if the page keeps its contents when unplugged from the electronics; you could use it just like a normal piece of paper- except that when it became of no use (or was about to go in the recycler) it could just be blanked and re-used.

    Also, is this a foldable/rollable 10" display as promised in your previous article? And, stop sniggering at the back, how rigid is this 10"? Will it stand proud just because of its own layout, or would it fall flacid to the ground and need laying on a table to be readable?

  11. Dr Patrick J R Harkin

    Why about environmental issues?

    Can you roll it up to swat wasps?

  12. Ken Hagan Gold badge
    Happy

    Re: Excellent news - but why not A4?

    That's obvious. It is so that *after* you've rendered a page of text with a "root 2" aspect ratio there is still some space left along one side for some touchable UI.

  13. John Chadwick

    Can I read it in the bath.....

    Great, if it weighs less than a mass market paperback, and I can drop it in the bath and still read it after drying it out on the radiator.

    That's two reasons I'm not buying a Sony.

    Oh yes, it's a Murcan size coz Murcans will buy it first in quantity.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    New technology same old problems..

    I notice that the size is equivalent to the American letter format - will it be available in A4?

    Mine's the one with MASSIVE pockets to accomodate the novel I'm reading on the plane which is now 8.5 x 11 inches instead of, well novel sized.

  15. Nic
    Thumb Up

    Wipe clean Jazz Mags?

    I can see a full colour whipe clean version of this being a useful cross over between certain web sites and certain top shelf publications.

    Mines the full length dirty mac

  16. Whitter
    Thumb Up

    Flipping heck!

    Good to get another developement into this feild. But does it solve on of the big issues: can you "flip" the pages? E-ink has a 0.5 sec delay between pages - and no to-black flicker either: just change what needs to be changed.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    hmm..

    Maybe if its A4 with Binder holes already punched, and is tipex and staple proof.. I might consider using them...

    Im not buying one if some daft bint will try to punch holes in it...

  18. Alex
    Heart

    ok ...this is what I want...

    Ok, I know this maybe a bit off the wall and (to some) pointless, but what I really want is a book of e-ink pages that I can load pages from a book on to. Ideally, you could have differing sizes and pages for each model released. I hear there is something along the lines in development, but I'm as of yet unable to find it (albeit not trying very hard...). This would mean that for those that wish to 'turn pages' can.

    Getting quite excited about this (EASY!) and find this a much better way of reading an e-doc.

    Good good, carry sir!

  19. Robert Grant

    Re: Easy gesture based interface?

    "Oh, lordy... Lets just hope this works okay and isn't another PITA like WM5/6's half-assed gesture interface."

    Probably will be better, because WM5/6 don't have a gesture-based interface.

  20. Bad Beaver
    Thumb Up

    wow!

    Did you see the flip-speed in the video Dylan linked to? Now we're talking!

  21. Dan
    Happy

    Get on with the exciting stuff

    How long before you can buy a car covered with this? Hmm, which colour would I like this morning? (Or how long before the display mimics what is on the other side of the car - a la Bonds disappearing Vanquish?)

    How long before I can cover my walls with this? Hmm, bored of this room after 2 days, think I'll decorate again - done.

    This shirt looks a bit summery for this weather - ah yes, a darker colour, and do away with that logo for now as well - done.

  22. Duncan Lees
    Go

    Charging?

    Instead of the ubiquitous plug in charger faff, it would be excellent if they could put a flexible solar cell on the back of the book. There's nothing more annoying that picking a gadget up only to find the battery's gone flat while it's not been in use. Not having to take yet another charger with you on holiday would also be nice.

  23. Alex
    Heart

    @Duncan

    Why not build it into the margins of the pages? That way, whenever you are reading the book in daylight, you are charging it?

    Hell, I suppose you could inlay the solar cells into the very pages themselves!

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Cool but...

    Now that is cool! I would love an e-ink device to store technical texts on.

    I bet it will cost a fortune though. Look at the price of an iRex Illiad at the moment - in fact most of the devices available in europe are expensive. Bookeen's Cybook G3 is €350.

    As much as I want one it will be a few years before e-ink devices drop in price methinks.

  25. Bob

    And it is called 'Dossier'

    Or so it seems if you read the sample text on the PR pic...

    http://www.plasticlogic.com/PRPlasticLogicPreviewsElectronicReadingDevice.html

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