Electrowetting Promises Power-Sipping, Daylight Readable Color Displays

Dutch researchers are working on a new application of an old technology that could mean bright color displays that draw much less power than conventional LCDs, according to the BBC. In this application, an instance of a technique known as electrowetting, droplets of colored oil in suspension are the basis for the display's colors; each pixel's color is determined by moving the colored oils with electrical current. A prototype reader from Dutch firm Liquivista is shown in the accompanying video; color magazines with 50-60hz refresh time using this display technology are at least a few years out, though. Significantly, these screens are daylight readable, which makes me wonder how they compare to Pixel-Qi style screens in power draw, brightness, and maximum density.

Comments

basement dwellers

[hort_wort]

Time to invest in those solar tubes to get the sunlight down into the basement for us then.

Re:Interesting technnology, +1 for open source

[nurb432]

Better then being sued by sony for using a music video :)

Electro-wetting?

[Compaqt]

Killer name.

Sounds like a combination of Cyberpunk and Depends

Re:Electro-wetting?

[Anonymous Coward]

If that's the case, definitely something for iPad 2.0

Re:Where's the last breakthrough?

[Yvan256]

What do you mean? An African or European blue?