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LG Begins Mass Production of First Flexible E-ink Displays
MrSeb writes "LG has just announced it has begun mass production of the world's first flexible, plastic e-ink display, with finished devices expected to hit Europe next month. LG says these plastic displays are half the weight (14g) and 30% thinner (0.7mm) than the hard, heavy, prone-to-cracking glass-laminate e-ink displays found in e-book readers like the Kindle and Nook. The press release says the plastic display survives repeated 1.5-meter drop tests and break/scratch tests with a small hammer, and that it's flexible up to 40 degrees from the mid point. Technology-wise, it's not very clear how LG's e-paper actually works. The press release suggests LG is using a conventional TFT process, which hints that they've cracked Electronics on Plastic by Laser Release (EPLaR). EPLaR is basically a technique of embedding electrophoretic ink capsules in a plastic substrate, but using existing TFT manufacturing processes, rather than building a whole new factory (unlike E Ink, which makes displays for the Kindle and other e-book readers). If this is the case, then other LCD manufacturers like Samsung and Sharp could start producing e-ink displays as well, hopefully driving prices down and further improving the display technology."
It mentions a TFT substrate and calls it an eInk display. Correctly me if I'm wrong but TFT requires active power for a display while the idea of eInk is that once a display is "set", you do not use any power until you need to update / change the display.
This will be great for the newspaper industry.
They can roll up an e-ink display, stuff it into a plastic bag, and toss it in your driveway everyday.
The newspaper industry moves into the 21st century!!!
Okay, so no color yet, but what about the contrast? Is it better than e-ink's Pearl display from the 4th-generation Kindles? And is it faster?
TFT means Thin Film Transistor, and from what I understand is a method of manufacturing transparent electronics behind the display. If it's still an e-ink display, those transistors will presumably only be powered on when it's time to flip the capsules.
What the hell happened to the OLED technology?! The industry announced a wide production release soon, several years ago!
This is not a phrase I associate with eink, can the posted post some evidence that this is a problem? I've never, ever heard of an eink display cracking
moox. for a new generation.
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I would love to see a portable computer that is similar to the old scroll type maps of days gone by. The CPU itself would be about the size of a paper towel tube and the display would just unscroll to look at it and scroll back up around the tube when you are finished with it.
I've broken 4 Kindle screens, always by packing it in my luggage and discovering the cracked screen immediately after boarding a flight. The screen is so fragile, just by applying a small amount pressure on the screen it will break.
This is my most recent one: http://i.imgur.com/Q6GtV.jpg
I NEED this. Amazon, can you hear me?? Please please please put this on the Kindle.
That is all.
A 19" demo screen? If it's that cheap to produce and low-power like traditional glass e-ink, show me a billboard or the side of a building covered in this plastic e-ink display.
I wanna changing tatoo! Man that would be hilarious. Put it on banner mode, "I love Mom!!" "I love /."
It's the protective screens that they put over them to protect them in consumer devices that aren't typically flexible.
Nothing new to see here.
Wake me up when they can do vibrant color and have motion video-capable display update speeds.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
If they could make these in color I would love to have a giant one of these as a picture frame! It would use less power than digital photo frames so long as it doesn't change that much! You could have a Monet on your wall one day and a vacation photo the next.
What do they cost? Typical LVDS panels cost ~$28 in quantity 10,000. If they can't hit near that, then they are going for a niche market.
-- Terry
fnord
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
Here's my bank ACCOUNT number to TRANSFER that $4,000,000 that my late step-aunt-in-law-second-removed-cousin left ME in your care.
Why can't it have wifi? It's much easier than dealing with a new card for every new magazine. I have newspaper subscriptions on my Kindle that automagically sync over wifi every morning, and I still get 3 weeks on a single charge. Mind you, I turn on wifi, sync, and then turn off wifi. This takes about as much time as making my cup of coffee.
Also, IMO, sturdiness is not the problem with current e-readers. My Kindle (in a cover) has survived 1.5 years of being tossed around in my backpack with books, water bottles, etc. The problem is that you want a large screen to read on, but a small device to put in your bag. That is the issue these screens may solve.
for i in `facebook friends "=bday" 2>/dev/null | cut -d " " -f 3-`; do facebook wallpost $i "Happy birthday!"; done
That gave me a good laugh on a slow Friday afternoon at work. Luckily my coworkers all appear to be asleep.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
YOW! You don't need to SUBSCRIBE to anything. He has a WEBSITE.