You may remember back to 2015 when you heard about an odd device called the YotaPhone 2 featuring not one but two full-size screens, with the rear being an E-ink display. Well, the Russian company behind the phone, Yota Devices, has announced it's making a successor called the — wait for it — YotaPhone 3. Unfortunately, this announcement, made at a conference in China this week, was very slim on details.
One of the biggest complains about smartwatches is how quick they are to die during the course of the day. What if you had a watch that could at least last for days while still have some of the fashionable options of smartwatches? That's what Sony subsidiary Fashion Entertainments sought out to do with its e-paper wearables. Now in its second run, the new Sony FES Watch U is now available for purchase, in Japan at least, offering a smartwatch that is really more a fashion accessory than a geek toy.
Ebook readers use e-paper displays for two reasons. First is the innate nature of such screens, which are easy on the eyes and batteries. Second is the cheaper costs of such components, which translate to a more affordable retail price. If you thought the latter would be true of the Gvido music sheet "tablet" and its two 13-inch e-ink screens, you'd be shocked to find out the truth. Because when the Gvido launches later this year, it will cost just as much as two 12.9-inch iPad Pros.
2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrids are in fashion these days. In fact, analysts like IDC tout them as the saviors of the PC industry. But the form factor is also seeing some interest in more than just PCs. They've also come to tablets and even e-ink readers. Yes, you heard that right. A company by the name of Onyx International has just revealed its Onyx Boox Typewriter prototype that is, for lack of a better term, a 2-in-1 e-ink laptop. And that's not the only interesting, or strange, thing about it.
Like it or not, it seems that companies are beginning to rethink the venerable keyboard, especially when it comes to mobile devices, both laptops and tablets alike. Microsoft started it with the Surface covers and then Apple jumped on board with the cloth-like Smart Keyboard. Things came to a head with the Lenovo Yoga Book's "Halo Keyboard". Now it seems that Microsoft might be on the verge of yet another invention, one that combines a few of those ideas together into one e-ink keyboard cover.
Crowdfunding is always risky business, not too different from investing in something that doesn’t exist yet. Some don’t deliver on time, others not at all. Some disappear like the wind, while others try to make a graceful exit, whether or not refunds are offered. popSLATE 2, a redux of an iPhone e-ink case, is somewhat all of the above. The company behind it has made one last update on Indiegogo, announcing its bankruptcy and dissolution and, to add insult to injury, the lack of funds to refund more than 12,000 backers who helped it raise $1.1 million last year.
If you've been following the smartwatch trend at all, you likely remember hearing about Sony's interesting E-ink wearable. Dubbed the FES (Fashion Entertainments) Watch, it uses low-power e-paper technology on both the face and wrist band. It doesn't have any of the "smarts" we've come to expect from our timepieces, but it can change patterns instantly at the press of a button.
We live in a somewhat schizophrenic digital age. On the one hand, the pull of the paperless workplace or classroom is irresistible. On the other hand, the psychological and practical benefits of writing with pen and paper are hard to dispute. For years, modern users have been torn between this digital and analogue dichotomy. The answer, however, might be upon us, if reMarkable is to believed. Putting out digital device of the same name, the reMarkable tablet is, in a nutshell, an e-ink reader you can write on. And it is as conflicted as the problem it tries to solve.
If you believe the talk, Apple isn't quite done with product announcements for 2016. Even though the announcement and launch of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are in the bag, Apple is said to be hosting another event before the year is out to reveal, among other things, a revamped MacBook. If a new leak is to be believed, however, hardware refreshes aren't the only thing Apple is plotting to reveal at this event.
If you spend all day working on a computer you know that if you get into a location where you can see outside, often that means such bad glare on your computer screen that it can be hard to function. A new computer display has landed on Indiegogo that is designed to be portable and specifically made to function in bright outdoor spaces called Paperlike. The monitor is the first E Ink monitor and has a screen that measures 13.3-inches.
Today we've gotten up close and personal with the newest innovation in E Ink display technology - Advanced Color ePaper. Also ACeP for short, this Advanced Color ePaper technology allows an electrophoretic display (EPD) to produce full color "at every pixel" without the use of a color filter array (CFA). That's big news for those of you that love to use your ereader without having to charge more than a couple times a year. Now you'll be able to do the same in full color.
If ever an ereader was aspirational, the Kindle Oasis, Amazon's eighth generation and most dramatically impressive to-date, is it. Taking the online retail behemoth's aping of paper with the flexibility of digital books to its most extreme example so far, the Kindle Oasis promises cutting-edge ergonomics along with the flexibility of not one, but two batteries and a clever way to carry both. It comes at a hefty price, however.
