Visitors Now: | |
Total Visits: | |
Total Stories: |
Story Views | |
Now: | |
Last Hour: | |
Last 24 Hours: | |
Total: |
E-Ink coming soon to smartphones
Back in October we posted about an E-Ink Android smartphone that’s in the works. However, it looks like the technology could be coming to handsets even sooner in the form of a case for the iPhone. The popSLATE is a case that has an E-Ink screen built into it. It can therefore display photos, text and other images pretty much constantly without eating into the handset’s battery life too much.
Electronic Ink is the technology that has driven the huge success of the Amazon Kindle. It’s brilliant for battery life, highly visible in bright sunlight and easy on the eyes when reading for a long period of time. It only uses battery life when the display is changed, so you can have a display show the same things for hours on end without using much battery.
Battery life is one of the main issues that manufacturers will be keen to target over the coming years. Most top of the range smartphones will last less than a day with heavy usage, so making battery-saving enhancements while adding functionality will certainly appeal to the power-user niche.
The E-ink screens are lamented in Gorilla Glass, the same as the front display of many new handsets. This means they’ll be fairly durable and take the same bumps and scratches that the front of the handset can withstand.
Should the cases prove popular, this technology could eventually end up being integrated into the back of the handset itself, rather than just being available when attaching a popSLATE case.
The popSLATE case is available to order here for $99 via indiegogo, with delivery expected for June 2013.
Via Wired
Clove Technology’s Blog – for the latest news, reviews and advice on smartphones, tablets and accessories.
2012-12-03 10:41:17