price point of the displays and the low
into play and create difficulty in reading
power consumption is the major reason
unless the brightness of the display is
for taking the stage, instead of the well-
high. Even then, the traditional displays
known advanced display technologies.
will create a higher amount of eye strain.
But the construct of the electronic ink
The core of the electronic ink theology
displays ensures that it will not glare
is similar to the operation of photocopy
under direct sunlight. Hence, it would not
machines. These displays are made out
cause any health issues, even under these
of a grayscale where there are capsules
conditions.
which are filled with tiny black and white
particles which are oppositely charged.
Even though the early age electronic ink
The display is made out of a collection of
displays are not readable in darkness, just
these capsules, a transparent electrode
like a physical book, today the display is
is placed on top of the display and a
illuminated to facilitate reading in the
similar electrode in the bottom. When
darkness. This is not the backlight observ-
the electrodes are charged relevantly, the
able in traditional displays which would
particles in the capsules get attracted to
be over powerful in darkness, but a set of
them and create the image required. If the
LEDs which externally light the display
image is stationary, it will only consume
where the light bounces off the surface
the initial charge which was used to cre-
and illuminates it. This way the electronic
ate it. Thus, it will display the image with-
ink displays are easy on the eyes even in
out consuming any more power. This is
complete darkness.
the reason why the electronic ink displays
are consuming a lot less power than any
The potential of the electronic ink is
traditional displays. There are coloured
widely observable through the marketing
electronic ink displays which follow the
strategy followed by Amazon.com, Inc. As
same techniques. But the complexity of
the most popular e-reader manufacturer
producing the colours have slowed down
in the world which has virtually no com-
the refresh rate of these displays.
petition with the withdrawal of Barnes &
Noble, Inc. from electronic ink e-reader
Under normal room conditions, eye strain
market, Amazon has introduced a wide
is not caused by any modern display as
array of e-readers which caters from the
the eye strain is resulted only by the
basic users to the most premium users.
resolution of the display and modern dis-
These readers are priced from mere 80
plays always show a very high resolution
USD to a premium price point of 290 USD.
which will avoid this problem. But under
This clearly shows that how this display
direct sunlight, the screen glare will come
technology can cater to a wider array of
Source: www.ablogtowatch.com
users. And the par mentioned wide array
of uses, which are other than using on
eBook readers, clearly indicate a solid
future alongside the ever improving display technologies.
T. CHANAKA HETTIGE,
Department of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering
(Third Year)
References
1. E Ink Holdings, Inc. (2016). Ink
Technology. [Online].
Available at : http://www.eink.com/
[Accessed on July 16th, 2016]
2. Chris Hoffman (March 03, 2014). E
Ink vs. LCD : Which Screen is Best for
Reading. [Online].
Available at : http://www.howtogeek.
com/ [Accessed on July 16th, 2016]
3. Siegenthaler E., Bochud Y., Bergamin P.,
Wurtz P. (July 04, 2012). Reading on LCD
vs e-Ink displays: effects on fatigue and
visual strain. [Online].
Available at : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/ [Accessed on July 16th, 2016]
Sony FES Watch • Source: www.theverge.com
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