E Ink Opens New Markets for Segmented Electronic Paper Displays

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--E Ink Corporation, the leading developer and marketer of electronic paper display (EPD) technology, today announced a distribution agreement in which Electronic Paper Technologies Solutions (EPTS) will offer E Ink’s Vizplex™ Imaging Film based electronic paper displays across its extensive network throughout the Mediterranean.

Under the terms of the agreement, EPTS will leverage its Center of Excellence for Custom Segmented Display Cells. E Ink’s EPDs appeal to the region’s and world’s search for unique display technology solutions that can rely on EPTS expertise in convergence of broadband wireless, electronic content delivery, long battery life, and a beautiful display.

“As E Ink’s display technology continues to expand into new and existing applications, creating a network of value-added partners accelerates the market’s adoption of electronic paper,” said Ryosuke Kuwada, E Ink, VP of Sales and Marketing. "EPTS has the technical skills, marketing capability and sales network in Europe that will give companies significant benefits when designing with this revolutionary technology.”

Custom Segmented Displays

SDC products are thin, plastic display cells that show a bright image with ultra-low power consumption. They offer innovative product design possibilities because they are paper-thin and can be cut to virtually any shape. Further, product designers can take advantage of image stability, which enables the image to remain highly legible for over a year without power.

E Ink’s segmented technology was selected by Motorola for its ultra-slim Motofone F3 GSM handset, by Lexar for its JumpDrive Mercury and Secure II Plus USB drives with capacity meter, and by Seiko for its sleek luxury line of Electronic Ink watches. All of these products have recently won international awards for breakthrough design and valuable features.

Rapid product development is available with EPTS/E Ink’s custom segmented display sample program. Starting from a customer-supplied CAD file, E Ink typically can supply production-ready samples within six to eight weeks after artwork approval, and enter mass production within 12 weeks. E Ink has partnered with several IC developers, including Dialog Semiconductor, Epson, Solomon-Systech, and Citizen, who have developed compatible segmented display drivers.

New Vizplex Eink technology launch by NeoLux

NeoLux Co., Ltd. of Korea today announced the launch of NUUT, a new e-book device with electronic paper screen. NUUT is the first commercial consumer device with an electronic paper screen released in the Korean market.

The essentials:

-Adopted E Ink's Vizplex TM Imaging Film, newest-generation electronic paper display
- Over 50.000 bookc and comics from major Korean publishers available on the e-book store (www.nuutbook.com)
- Most affordable e-book reader with electronic-paper screen on the market.
- Stores over 1.000 e-books in internal memory

NUUT is the first of its kiind to host a Vizplex TM electroninc paper screen. Vizplex TM is the newest, fastest and brightest electronic paper display yet from E Ink Corporation, with an 80 percent improvement in refresh rate and an 25 percent improvement in brightness over the previous version of electroninc paper. Unlike LCD, E Ink's electroninc paper display offers paper-like readability under sunlight, a viewing angle of near 180 degres, and ultra-low power consumption of about 5 percent of that of conventional LCD, among other advantages.

NUUT also boasts 512 megabytes of internel memory large enough for 1.000 e-books or more, and a rechargeable battery good for up to 7.500 page turns with a single charge, in a light, copact package. Yet NUUT is priced at about $280, the lowest of all e-paper-based reader available in the world's market.

Content availability is a particularly attractive aspect of NUUT. As of today, over 300.000 volumes of e-books can be read on NUUT. That number is many times the largest number of e-book volumes available for any single e-book device previously.

NUUT's softaware offers convenient features with easy-to-use control. A variety of page turning methods, footnote viewing, and music playing are some of the features included in NUUT's software. The footnote viewing feature adds convenience to reading scholarly and professional materials as well as regular books, and tne musix-playing-while-reading function is apt for learning foreign languages. English, Korean, Chinese and Japanese languages in various font sizes are supported.

With the newest electroninc paper screen, a new combination of components, vast content availability, convenience, and affordability unwitnessed thus far.

"We are very pleased to be the first to launch this next-generation display device in Korea," said Woo-jong Kang, CEO of NeoLux. He also added, "We hope NUUT will play a key role in the growth of Korea's e-book industry".

"E Ink is delighted to see electronic paper products coming to korea, one of the leading countries in the wordl for growth of digital books and for using the latest technologies. We are sure everyone will enjoy the NUUT." said Ryosuke Kuwada, VP Asia of E Ink.

NeoLux will offer over 50.000 books and comics on its Web store at www.nuutbook.com, as well as NUUT and accessories. More contents in further varieties, such as newspapers, magazines, professional contents, and textbooks, will be added down the road. For further details, please visit www.nuutbook.com. For further inquiries, please contact: Jae-yong Yang, Senior Manager (Tel: + 82-31-740-9944, email: jyyang@nuutbook.com) Neolux, Co., Ltd. Lire aussi sur http://www.eink.com

Digital paper that talks to you

The large boards and store displays already exist as prototypes. They talk to you directly, using digital information embedded in the paper. You simply touch various parts of the display to get information to stream out of printed speakers. And this coming technology can be used in many areas, from advertising to tourist information at attractions.

Research teams at the Mid Sweden University forestry industry research program Fiber Science and Communication Network (FSCN) are working on the fourth generation of paper products that can communicate with computers. This integrates paper with the digital world.

"We combine paper with printed graphic codes and electronically conductive ink that is engineered to be sensitive to pressure. Then digital information is embedded in the paper, and when it is touched, the information comes out via printed speakers," says Mikael Gulliksson, project leader for media technology in the comprehensive research project.

A large display board is already in use to show how the marketing of new travel destination, for instance, can be carried out by having the recipient enter the advertising world. When the person touches a picture or text, he or she hears the audiovisual advertising message. Instead of a flat advertising surface, this advertising invites people to enter into and interact with the message. Applications could be for advertising campaigns, marketing, and events. Other possible areas are product displays in stores.

The same technology has been used in a prototype for a 'music display board.' On this slightly bowed board, a number of music albums are printed directly on paper. Just as with a regular sound system, you can sample music by touching the front of the album. The sound is then streamed right out of the paper. The board can easily be replaced as soon as there are new recordings to be marketed. This new display technology is inexpensive, combining images, sound, and space in a new an environmentally friendly way. After use, the displays can be tossed into the recycle bin. View a video of a large display board at
http://mkv.itm.miun.se/projekt/paperfour/

The three research teams in the project include scientists from materials physics, media and communication science, and electronics. Paper Four is a research project that collaborates with the paper industry in the mid-Sweden region. The aim is to develop an entirely new paper-based product platform for marketing products and services.

Questions can be directed to:
Mikael Gulliksson, cell phone: +46 (0)70-514 5275; Micke.Gulliksson@miun.se.
Kristina Brink, mobiltelefon +46(0)70-521 9884; Kristina.Brink@miun.se