Goodness! I’ve got E Ink On My Hands!
E Ink is the technology I, and indeed the world, has been waiting for! With the world energy crises and failing eye sight due to staring at electrical devices, this is just what we needed.
It is energy efficient and consumes no power displaying the last image seen on the screen. I am not going into detail about the technology but as usual will leave links scattered in the text and at the end of this post for you to inform yourself.
About two months ago I finally decided I was going to purchase an electronic book reader. What I didn’t want was to sit staring at yet another backlit screen! I already sit at a computer all day as it is. So E Ink, or a similar technology, was my book of choice.
The first e-reader that I held in my hands was the Kindle, manufactured by Amazon. It was the deciding factor as to what I was going to buy. I had never seen an electronic paper device in action!
The next decision was which one to acquire for my reading purposes! I began my lengthy research not only on the technologies but also different manufacturers and their products. Another factor, I soon realised, was which ones were available to South Africa. This was to be the dawning of great disappointment but ultimately to my benefit!
Having been quite sold on the idea of E Ink I was only looking at e-readers that had electronic paper screens. If I wanted to watch videos I could buy a Tablet or use my new cell phone. What I wanted was to read words on paper!
I finally decided that the Kindle was the better of the options I had seen at the time. It didn’t have a touch screen but it did have a darn good screen. One late night I finally decided to place an order online to get one posted to me.
I went on to the Kindle site to exercise my credit card with a good stretch. Fortunately I was still logged in and I received the notification that the brand new Touch Kindle had been launched on pre-order! I would have been quite irate if I had ordered it before the news!
What was to follow all the excitement was great frustration and annoyance! The all new Kindle Touch 3G was not only nearly two months away from release but it would only be available to the US market. I had an online chat with a pleasant operator from Amazon but still, the company seems to be very short sighted.
Clearly either Amazon considers the world outside of the USA as ignorant and illiterate, only worthy of its old models (any colour as long as it is “graphite”) or they actually don’t see the greater market for profit. Either way, they will not sell me a new Kindle on pre-order. Thank goodness!
Barnes and Noble has a similar product called the Nook but equally similar inexplicable policies. It is most disappointing that two great companies have such small minded policies and views of the world. So while the “Big Guys” are content like fat cats, the rest of the world has caught up, and in fact, overtaken both the Kindle and the Nook!
I bought a Bookeen Cybook Orizon which utilises SiPix ePaper technology! It is a wonderful product and it can be purchased right here at home with no “grey” warranty policy and price tag. It is touch screen, the world’s thinnest e-reader, and Bookeen is NOT full of red tape and idiotic policy. “You want one? Here, let us sell you one right in your own country!” Now that is how Europeans do business!
While I do not have shares (yet!) in the company, I strongly recommend everyone looking at purchasing an e-reader to consider the Bookeen range. I am thoroughly enjoying mine and I didn’t have to pre-order it or wait for a year to get it!
In my current fashion, the day I bought mine, Bookeen announced a new model which breaks the boundaries for electronic paper. While I was a little annoyed, this is fantastic news! Read up about the new Cybook Odyssey.
My one complaint on all electronic paper e-readers is that they all seem to be stuck at the 6 inch screen. What we really need is a slighter larger screen. Not too big though, but perhaps a 7 inch would make reading a little easier but still easily carried about.
On a last note to all potential electronic paper e-reader buyers, please check that the one you buy is capable of 16 greyscale or greater. It makes a noticeable difference on how images are displayed in (and out of) your e-books! Some manufacturers have products still only offering 8 greyscale.
Don’t spill the E Ink!
Links
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_Ink
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlight
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-book_reader
- http://www.amazon.com/kindle/
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp
- http://www.bookeen.com/en/cybook/?id=2
- http://www.sipix.com/technology/epaper.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market
- http://bookeen.com/blog/bookeen-odyssey-pr01/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayscale
