E Ink is all the Talk
USAToday takes a look at the upcoming releases of various eReaders and in particular, talks about how E Ink will basically take eBooks to that next level.
…we’re potentially on the cusp of a change. A new technology is now making it into consumer products that just might make electronic books a viable alternative to printed ones. It’s called electronic ink, and it can make a computer display look like a page in a printed book as opposed to a glowing screen.
The problem with reading on screen:
When we read a paper book, the ambient light is reflected off the pages. When we read a computer screen, the light comes from behind; it’s much less natural and much harder on the eyes.
And the rave about E Ink:
And that’s where the newest technology in the making-e-books-work arsenal comes in: electronic ink. It’s a quantum leap over traditional LCD technology, and makes e-books as comfortable to read as paper ones.
If you want to know more about E Ink, eReaders and the outlook for eBooks then I’d suggest you read the USAToday article
Want to know the finer details of how E Ink works? Take a look here…
2 Responses to “E Ink is all the Talk”
By Duane on Feb 28, 2006 | Reply
It’s weird to me that the biggest complaint about e-books is that it’s hard on the eyes, but people these days can spend all night long chatting on IM or playing XBox 360, far longer than they would ever stare at a book for one sitting. Perhaps it’s the white background with black letters, traditional in print, that gives the eyes such a hard time? Or maybe it’s more of an attention span thing — you can sit behind IM for a few hours, but at any given time you’re only reading about a sentence or two, and then your eyes can refocus on something else while you type, or wait for a response. When you’ve got a book, you’re doing nothing but reading so your eyes stay focused at the same distance for the entire time. Truthfully, though, I think your eyes would hurt eventually anyway, even with a paper book, if that’s the case.
By Martin Neumann on Feb 28, 2006 | Reply
Hi Duane,
Good points you make there. I’m no expert but for myself it’s the white background of my computer screen that eventually gets me.
But from first-hand experience, I’ve had a look at E Ink and I think you’ll be impressed.