The Dream Lives On: PlasticLogic's E-Newspaper Reader; Esquire's E-Ink Cover
This story was written by Rafat Ali.
One of the biggest areas of research in the newspaper industry (besides of course the new business models) is the development of an electronic paper, or digital delivery to a digital device. Among them, UK electronic paper display technology company Plastic Logic, which last year received a big $100 million in venture funding, is publicly showing off its version of an electronic newspaper reader: a lightweight plastic screen more than twice the size of an Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) Kindle or Sony (NYSE: SNE) Reader.
It will be introduced at the Demo conference tomorrow, reports NYT. The size of a piece of copier paper, it can be continually updated via a wireless link, and can store and display hundreds of pages of newspapers, books and documents. Like Kindle and Sony Reader, it uses a highly legible black-and-white display developed by the E-Ink. This first display weighs just two ounces more than Kindle, and is about one-third the Kindle's thickness.
The reader will go on sale in the first half of next year, though no announcements yet on which media companies will provide content for it. Richard Archuleta, CEO of Plastic Logic, told NYT that the display was big enough to provide a newspaper- like layout...Kindle does provide some major newspapers, but due to size is only in book size with heavy reliance on table of contents. It will announce more plans and price at CES early next year.
Earlier this year I reported about another stealth venture called FirstPaper, backed by Hearst Interactive, which is incubating a digital reader. Hearst is also an investor in E-Ink.
Meanwhile, Esquire, a magazine owned by Hearst, is unveiling a 75th-anniversary issue with a cover that features E-Ink's technology...A 10-square-inch display on the cover of Esquire's October 2008 anniversary issue flashes the theme "The 21st Century Begins Now" with a collage of illuminated images, reports AP. On the inside cover, a two-page spread advertising the new Ford Flex Crossover features a second 10-square-inch display with shifting colors to illustrate the car in motion at night, surely to make advertisers delirious with possible opportunities. The display has six batteries and two computer chips, and the batteries are guaranteed to last 3 months but expected to work for more than 6 months. Esquire is printing 100,000 copies of the October issue with the special cover, which will sell for $5.99 - $2 more than the standard $3.99 cover price. Without the e-paper cover, single copies of the anniversary issue will sell for $4.99.
By Rafat Ali