E-Paper Brightens Up To Save Power

One of the common arguments against e-books is that however low-tech it might be, traditional printed paper never runs out of power.  While you could mention all the other things possible with the electronic version – annotation, bookmarks, carrying hundreds of books in the space of just one – it's a far criticism to say that battery life is a key element in the lack of take-up.  Although advances in e-paper have increased resolution and readability, the need for strong backlighting often proves a key power drain; Bridgestone, however, claim to have gone some way to curing that.

Their quick-response liquid-powder display (QR-LPD) is not only flexible but twice as bright as earlier prototypes, thanks to unique colour filters that have been specially designed for e-paper rather than screens in general.  A mere 290 µm thin, the end result is a far lower power drain with comparable brightness to competing technologies.

Incidentally, while the paper might appear coloured in fact it's still black & white; tints are added to the surface of the screen.  Full-colour, however, is due sometime in 2008.

Heise [via MobileRead]