The Future of Electronic Readers
Love Them or Hate Them, Portable E-Readers are Here to Stay
Jan 31, 2009
First released in Japan by Sony as the Librie’ in 2004, portable electronic book readers have been making their presence known in the United States since late 2007. Advancement in electronic books should make today’s models look like the dinosaurs that were the electronic pocket calculators of the 1960’s and the cellular phones of the 1970’s.
2007 Technology
Several brands of portable electronic book readers came on the United States market in late 2007 and early 2008. The two most popular are the Sony PRS-505 and the Amazon Kindle. The readers retail for around $300 and $400, respectively. They share many features, most notably, e-ink technology with 4-level gray scale that allows the page to be “written” on the viewing screen and the print remains without continuing to use electricity. This allows an electronic book reader using e-ink to read for about 2,000 page turns before it needs to be recharged. The pages are not backlit and reads like a page printed on paper even in direct sunlight. The Kindle has an internal cell phone apparatus that allows books to be downloaded from anywhere a cell phone signal can be found.
2009 Technology
The next generation is imminently upon us. Polymer Vision is introducing the Readius for release in the fall of 2009 for around $570. The Readius utilizes e-ink technology with a 16-level grey scale. It is about the size of a cell phone with a rollable paper thin screen that rolls out for a 5 inch viewing area. The internal cell phone uses the latest 3.5G tri-band connection for downloading books, updating emails, agendas, and news.
The Future
Technology advances at exponential rates. Within a few short years, just as cell phones and PDAs merged into smart phones; the portable electronic book reader will merge into smart phones to make, what - phonebooks?
The burden of school children carrying 50 pound backpacks filled with books can be reduced to mere ounces. Doctors, who are already carrying around some reference material on PDAs and smart phones, can have a whole medical library in their lab coats. The conveniences of digital cameras and music files will remain. All of these features will be available in the size of a current day cell phone.
The next big advancements in e-ink are the use of color and video applications. In the not so distant future we could be using an advanced form of e-ink for desk top computer and television applications. The eye strain of long term LCD use by today's workers could be problem of the past.
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