“Sony’s Contrast Flex OLED Reader is a super-thin Reader product concept… Bendable material simulates the flexible reading experience from a book. Could you imagine bending a Flex OLED display to quickly flip pages, or bend the corners of each page to go through more pages?… This …electronic Reader…could happen in five to ten years, according to chatter overheard at CES.” – Sony Insider blog with video included.
The TeleRead take: So the usual questions, gang. What do you think of the ergonomics here, and do you think improved E Ink might beat this technology to the punch?
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First, I don’t think we’ll ever see this device in this format or in that time frame. This cute kind of interface may attract people who have never used an ebook before, and is intended to increase media interest but I’m sure that people who have experienced ebooks extensively will have little interest in it.
Second, why the fascination with imitating paper? These readers are not paper and have other attributes, so why not use them. Consider what archaeologists in 100 years would think, if they found reading devices from 2015 that imitated extinct paper books. If they ever figured out the interface and it’s roots, they’d think we were insane. It’s like making early cars share the paradigm of the horse and buggy.
For example, in e-books why are footnotes necessary? Why can’t the information be accessed from the relevant location in the text, rather than some arbitrary other location based on the requirements of paper publishing. Makes little sense.
Flexible is a first step in the right direction, but I want one that rolls up like a scroll and when not in use fits in a cigar tube sized package. Then when you want to use it as a reader you would pull it out about four inches. Or when you want to use it to watch video or surf the internet you could pull it out eight inches for a wide-screen mode. Flexing, just for the sake of flexing doesn’t seem to add any value.
I think Sony’s OLED approach is far superior to e-ink or any version of potential e-ink I have heard about. OLED has the most vivid, saturated colors and highest contrast ratios of any available technology. And with its ability for LCD like screen refresh rates, it has the potential to be a truly multi-purpose device unlike the e-ink one trick pony.
I’ll admit I don’t have an e-ink reader. I have played with the Sony Reader in stores on multiple occasions, but I find its extremely poor contrast ratio makes it very hard for me to read. I much prefer reading on my HTC X7501 phone with its 5 inch diagonal screen. I know some people say an LCD screen is difficult to read out-of-doors, but I spend more time reading in dark theaters waiting for movies to start than I do outside. And I know some people are unsatisfied if they can’t go days without recharging, but I can read on my phone for at least 4-5 hours without recharging and I rarely have time to read longer than that without being near an outlet. My phone (which will also access my e-mail, surf the internet on a 3G connection, and play movies) is right at the upper limit of what can be considered ‘pocket-able’. I would love to upgrade to something with all the same capabilities but with a bigger screen in a smaller package. An OLED screen that folds or rolls up currently seems like the best candidate.
Duane