Someday you may be reading this on paper-thin, high-contrast, electronic paper technology. That’s the promise of new technology shown Monday by Esquire magazine and Plastic Technology.
For its 75th anniversary issue, Esquire features a first-ever digital cover with moving electronic imagery. The inside of the cover has an electronic ad for the Ford Flex crossover, and the cover flashes “The 21st Century Begins Now.”
E-Ink’s Technology
The technology is provided by Cambridge, Mass.-based E-Ink, which also provides the core technology for Amazon’s Kindle electronic reader. E-Ink uses microcapsules of ink controlled by an electric charge.
E-Ink is also used in the electronic paper offered by Plastic Logic, from the United Kingdom. The company is today previewing a lightweight, electronic newspaper screen twice as large as the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Reader. The product is being shown at the DEMOfall 08 conference in San Diego.
The reader is the size of an 8.5×11-inch piece of paper, thinner than a pad of paper and with high-contrast fonts. Rather than targeting consumer markets, as other electronic readers have done, Plastic Logic is targeting business users. CEO Richard Archuleta said his company’s research “confirms professionals read much more business content than recreational content,” and they require access to digital content at their fingertips.
The Plastic Logic device supports Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus Adobe PDFs, with a gesture-based user interface and tools for information management. It features wired or wireless connectivity, and can store thousands of documents. The key difference between its reader and competitors, according to the company, is that the Plastic Logic reader uses “revolutionary” plastic electronics display technology and a large display, rather than a small display with a glass screen.
The reader is scheduled to ship in the first half of next year. Pricing has not been announced.
‘Right on Cusp’
Michael Gartenberg, vice president for…