“Cheap, paper-thin TV screens that can be used in newspapers and magazines have been unveiled by German electronics giant Siemens. The firm says the low production costs could see the magazine shelves in newsagents come alive with moving images vying for the customers’ attention as they move along the aisle.” – Guardian Unlimited, via Slashdot, MobileRead and Electronic Paper. Also see Siemens news release and fascinating details in Physics.com, which reports that the displays will run off printable batteries.
The displays are to reach market by ’07. If they’re available for e-books by then, what will this mean to the E-Ink—large E–people? Is is this just another version of the EI-owned technology? My suggestion to E-Ink is to make hay, in a hurry. The company lost valuable momentum by squandering the technology on Sony’s DRM-hobbled Librie. Meanwhile, with display technology advancing steadily, I wonder how the skeptics in the library world will take it. What happens when e-book devices not only are as readable as p-books but also boast such goodies as full-motion color video?
