The future of electronic paper

COMMENTARY--As a laboratory prototype, electronic paper has been around for some time, and demonstration of the technology usually lead to wildpredictions about e-books and electronic newspapers. Now some of thesetechnologies are approaching availability for hardware manufacturers--and it is becoming clear that it could have a considerableimpact on the development of personal computing devices of a new kind.

The vision of electronic paper driving a new wave of innovation in thecontent distribution field has been around for a long time. In thenot-so-distant future, we are told, paper-like displays will replacenewspapers, magazines and books since they will be almost as manageableas paper and allow display resolution close to print. Now, this may wellhappen over time (although experience with new media tells us that oldmedia only disappears when it has been rendered completely redundant. Andin the case of magazines and newspapers this will take a bit of time)However, a long time before this may occur, electronic paper is likelyto have a strong impact on a completely different market: handhelddevices.

Last month, E Ink (www.eink.com) based in Cambridge, Mass., demonstrated a prototype active matrix display that uses electronic ink. Jointly produced by E Ink and Philips Components, these displays could find their way into products as early as 2002-2003. (Xerox spin-off Gyricon Media, which also works on electronic paper focuses mainly on in-store displays, the first market segment where this kind of technology is starting to be used in the real world.)

Compared to traditional computer display technologies such as LCD or CRTscreens, electronic ink has a few advantages which are going to influenceheavily the type of appliance which they are going to be used for. Theprototype demonstrated be E Ink shows a level of contrast much closer topaper than traditional LCD displays. It uses pigments similar to printand can be viewed in full daylight.

An interesting twist is that the display can preserve its content evenwhen switched off. You could for instance turn off an electronic bookwhile you read a page of text.) As a result, power requirements aresignificantly lower--E Ink claims that the display uses 1/1000th of thepower necessary for an LCD display. In addition, electronic ink displaysare thinner than LCD panels, and since they use significantly lessbattery power, the devices could be much lighter. Last but not least,electronic ink displays can have much higher resolution then current LCDscreens, which makes them ideal for displaying text.

What will the impact be?
The big question is of course where this technology will have its firstbig impact. Whenever electronic paper is mentioned, the first applicationthat springs to mind are e-books and electronic newspapers. One shouldhowever be careful before jumping to conclusions. If the recent poorsales of e-book devices are any indication, the average user is not quiteas enthusiastic about reading on an electronic gadget as the industryhad hoped--and even a much better display is not going to change thisfundamentally.

There is an area, however, where electronic paper displays could spawn an unexpected wave of innovation: PDAs and handheld computers. Indeed,display capabilities such as the ones demonstrated be E Ink could welllead to a whole new generation of devices, which would exploit thepaper-like quality of the displays in a number of innovative ways.

A new kid of device
The biggest immediate potential for this technology would be what couldbe dubbed a PDN--a personal digital notebook. Unlike the much ballyhooedTablet PC (basically a Windows laptop with touch screen and handwritingrecognition), such a device would expand the Palm paradigm: simple,immediately useful and usable, with a minimal OS. Not a replacement for alaptop, but a device which allows basic management functions with notetaking and document display.

There are a few simple reasons for this analysis: electronic ink will, at least initially, be monochrome, and therefore appeal for usages whichdon¹t require color in real life, such as note taking, reading, managingyour date-book and so on. (It is unlikely that Windows users will settlefor a monochrome version of their OS without feeling they are losingsomething important.)

The phenomenal success of the Palm has shown that there is a market forhandheld devices which don't try to rival with a complete computer. Thisnotion could be expanded considerably, especially if the device is lightand simple enough to allow for intuitive use even for a computer novice.And then there is price, of course. One of the problems with Microsoft¹sconception of the Tablet PC is that it is a complete laptop--and it willcome at prices of high-end portable computers, which it will only partlyreplace (at least initially). In order to be a genuinely usefulcomplement to current devices, a true digital notebook would have to beboth less complex and less expensive.

The role of electronic paper
In any case, electronic paper will play an important role in thedevelopment of next generation handheld devices: low power consumption,high contrast, a high resolution display which stays in place when adevice is turned off and can be viewed in broad daylight, all thesefactors indicate that this technology will have a considerable impact onthe devices we will find on the market.

This is not going to happen overnight, however. Until the best use forthis technology potential is found, electronic ink displays will findtheir way into a number of existing platforms, such as next generationPalms or Pocket PCs.

The ultimate question is of course what the right mix of features willbe. Digital Notebooks with built-in Web-browsers? Course books withannotation and word-processing functions? Date books with handwritingrecognition and built-in e-book readers, Web browsers and GPS devices? Itwill take some time to sort this out--but there is a lot to be inventedhere.

Andreas Pfeiffer is an industry analyst and editor in chief of the Pfeiffer Report on Emerging Trends and Technologies.