Round 2 for Color E-readers
Earlier this April Bridgestone showed off its new jaw dropping e-paper display at a Tokyo Tradeshow. Unlike other e-paper devices like the Kindle and Sony’s 505/700, the Bridgestone model does not use E Ink’s display. Instead, it uses another electrophoretic technology built in-house that could completely revolutionize e-paper called QR-LPD.
The Technology
The screen itself is slim and light and durable, and resembles a flexible piece of clear plastic. It can be bent without stretching out or warping the image, due to its special ribbed structure that prevents mixing between the pixels.
The technology behind the screen itself is based on Bridgestone’s own QR-LPD electronic powder, which provides the quick rendering of black and white images that are as clear and paper-like as E Ink’s technology, and uses about the same battery life. Color is provided by a series of filters that go over each individual pixel that create the impression of a high definition, true color display.
The touch screen surface is provided by a WACOM tablet, much like the touch screen surface used in Sony’s PRS 700 and the IRex Iliad. As you can see in the example videos, the touch screen updates really quickly, but the actual full display refresh can be very slow. Depending on the model and the image displayed, the full screen refresh can be anywhere from .8 seconds to a full 15 seconds.
Not to worry, though. According to a representative from Bridgestone, the model they currently have in development refreshes at five times this speed. He went on to say that this will be improved even more in the near future. If this is the case, then E Ink has some serious competition in the works. From a tire manufacturer, no less.
To Market, To Market
So far, Bridgestone says that their e-paper technology is currently in use in many supermarkets both at home in Japan and abroad. It uses the e-paper display to show up to the minute prices of products. This can drastically cut down on inventory upkeep and man hours spent updating price tags.
In the future they see this being used in plant and factory management, distribution management and logistics related tasks. The goal is for this to be used in place of paper wherever possible in the workplace.
This contrasts greatly with the current usage for e-paper, which so far has been for electronic books and newspapers. Not that Bridgestone doesn’t see them being applied to books and newspapers in the future, that is just not their main aim when entering the market.
Roll to Roll Manufacturing
The displays are manufactured using Bridgestone’s roll to roll manufacturing, which produces the e-paper in much the same way as a newspaper is produced. Giant rolls of plastic are imprinted with the displays, giving them a lower cost since they can be easily mass produced, and a lesser impact on the environment since they use a cold manufacturing method.
The current wave of e-paper products use a pretty standard manufacturing process that can add up to about 40-41% of a product’s cost, causing e-reader devices to be much more expensive that other mobile devices on the market. Bridgestone’s approach can cut this down and maybe give us the e-reader at a price most people can afford.
A lot of other e-paper manufacturers are looking into using a similar roll to roll manufacturing method, including HP’s paper thin plastic display that they debuted this January. As the e-paper market heats up in the next few years, it’s certain that cheaper, more environmentally friendly manufacturing will play a key component.
The Competition
The biggest competitor to this color display would be the Fujitsu’s FLEPia color e-reader which was announced earlier this year. Right now the two systems are very comparable, even with the lagging refresh rate of these screens. If Bridgestone does deliver a faster refresh as they’ve promised, they could have the competition beat very easily.
Especially if the roll to roll manufacturing drops down the price of the screen as much as they claim it will. The main complaint about Fujitsu’s FLEPia is the absurdly high price tag of about $800-$1,000. If Bridgestone could bring a device to market that’s got a decent refresh rate, full color and below the $500 price range, they could dominate the e-paper market - it would make other products pale in comparison.
Bridgestone QR-LPD Color E-Paper Review
Bridgestone QR-LPD Color E-Paper Demonstration
Bridgestone Color E-Paper Featured on a Japanese Show
Other Photos
By Paul Jessup
bridgestone, color, QR-LPD
This is great to see! Unfortantely, the saturation of the color looks muddy and washed out. I’m not sure if bridgestone can correct that with their technology. I think the technology with the most promise is Electrowetting Technology by Liquivista:
http://www.epapercentral.com/epaper-technologies-guide#liquivista
Oh that one does look good.
I do think Bridgestone is aiming for a different target market here- not replacing books, but replacing any need for paper in an office, or in shipping or factories.
Paul - I think what bridgestone are doing is trying to miss a step in a way. I think the logical first step for epaper is a reader because black/white is more easily accesible than full colour, and smaller screen sizes make reliability less of an issue. I think in this respect, Bridgestone are skipping a market and going to where E-Ink want to be - readers are expensive and really are a flashy toy, but industrial applications like office paper, factory note taking are bigger money in many ways - a few readers on top of that is a bonus!
Finally something of use at work rather than for idle reading. Why the f*ck these E-readers have been exclusively aimed at idle fiction readers must be one of the great f-ing mysteries of the world - along with why it’s taken such a disgraceful length of time for anyone to come up with what’s really needed, which is A4 electronic paper. Who gives a f*ck whether it’s colour or black and white - just make one, and f*ing make it available to us in business and academia. Enough internet jabbering, promises, sh*tty prototypes and comments by losers who think the world revolves around lying in bed reading fiction. Enough waiting. Deliver - NOW.
[...] ziet die niche kennelijk niet zitten, maar worstelt met het - nog - niet aanwezig zijn van snelle full color ePaper displays, waar naast kleurenbeeld ook video weergegeven kan worden. Het grote verschil tussen [...]
This really looks like the future of e-readers with extended capabilities. Colour, colour and colour. However, to be useful and successful in an industrial and manufacturing environment they will need to be able to use a handwriting application right on the screen and data entry on screen using a stylist pen of some sort. Otherwise these will not make it in day to day use in businesses. As well, they will have to be priced at a level the same or lower than an equivalent laptop. 2010 is going to be the year for e-reader technology if they get these going out to the mass market.