You may have heard about E-ink or electronic ink becoming available in many devices. But what is it? Why is it important? Where will you be seeing it next? Read on and you’ll get the scoop.
E-ink is both the common name of a technology as well as the name of the company that produced it. When someone is referring to e-ink, they generally mean and Electronic Paper Display, or EPD. It is a process that features an electronic display that mimics text or graphics on paper. Far from the usual computer-type displays that we are used to, the EPD is really a different way of viewing content.
With the E-ink or EPD, there is no backlighting. This means that when viewing or reading the display, you need an outside light source, much as you would if you were reading an ordinary book or piece of printed paper. The display uses a very small amount of energy to run, making it idea for mobile devices. it also feature a very thin and light form, another reason it is good for mobile devices. And, with an EPD, there is less eye-strain than with traditional CRT and LCD screens. In fact, studies have shown that the eye-strain with using an EPD is about the same as reading a standard book in a decently lit room.
E-ink is first making itself into the mainstream through e-book readers, such as the Sony Reader. This little device allows your to download books (it comes with 100 classics for free) and then read them on the device.
Other applications, which you will be seeing soon, will be linked to mobile phones and texting devices. “Tats” or Tattoos for the devices will begin appearing. These are designs that you can use to jazz up your device. They are called tats because of the heavy black “ink” lines that are part of the designs.
E-ink can be very useful in situations where looking at a traditional screen causes eye-strain or when something needs to be viewed from multiple angles at the same time. It already has many industrial applications. To learn more, you can visit the E-INK website by clicking here.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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