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Digital Clock as Thin as Paper

Elitist_Phoenix writes "Citizen Watch has created a clock that is Paper thin! This unique design is enabled by E Ink Imaging Film. In addition to the fact that no backlighting is required, the display also has an inherently stable memory effect which requires no power to maintain an image - both of which drastically increase the battery life. The result is 1/100 the power consumption of traditional display options. Citizen Watch Co. and T.I.C.-Citizen Co. have not yet announced a launch date for this product, but it is expected to be commercialized in Japan in 2005."

8 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. Linky past the linky by nuntius · · Score: 3, Informative
  2. Re:haha by kyle90 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I know I shouldn't respond to ACs, but I figured I should clear this up for anyone that happens to be reading. Electronic ink works by having microscopic charged spheres that are white on one side and black on the other. When an electric field is applied, the sphere flips over. But when the electric field is turned off, it stays how it is. So it only needs power when the image is changing.

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    Real_men_don't_need_spacebars.
  3. Re:When will we see this technology in PDAs? by AaronLawrence · · Score: 2, Informative

    Why do you think it looks terrible?

    According to this review it is great.

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    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
  4. I doubt... by insignificant1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    that the entire clock is paper thin, but that just the display is paper thin. There is no mention of the crystal oscillator and other electronics being included in the package.

    And as far as a crystal goes, the size is, generally speaking, directly proportional to its stability. So if the crystal is included in the "paper-thin" clock, you can count on it losing or gaining a minute or more a day.

  5. Re:haha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Actually, that is only one of many electronic paper technologies. The one you're referring to is the one developed at Xerox PARC, and is being commercialized by Gyricon. Eink's tech, one the other hand, uses single-colored spheres (black & white in this case) floating in a oil medium. The spheres are charged, and depending on how you manipulate them, you can get black, white , and shades of grey for each pixel. Here's the overview of it

  6. Re:haha by 9mind · · Score: 3, Informative
    As the IT manager of E Ink, I will inform you that most of our competitors technology works that way.... but ours does not.

    As not to divulge anything I shouldn't be, check here http://www.eink.com/technology/index.html for a simple diagram of how it works.

  7. Re:Neat! by Froze · · Score: 2, Informative

    $ man -k vcstime
    vcstime (1) - Show time in upper right hand corner of the console screen

    Now you don't have to feel left out.

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    -- The morphemes of your disquisition are ascertainable, but they have eschewed an ambit of transpicuous exposition.
  8. Re:Nice fuckin' slashvertisement, Zonk! by db3d · · Score: 2, Informative

    Plastic Logic has been working on this technology with eInk. Here are some technical papers.

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    What if there were no hypothetical questions?