Epson and E Ink have developed a new electronic paper with a resolution way higher than that of existing e-readers.
At 300 dpi and 2,400 x 1,650 pixels, the companies claim it promises ‘razor-sharp text and images’, compared with the 160 dpi and 600 x 800 resolution of existing readers such as the Kindle. And they say that, despite the higher resolution, readers will be able to turn pages faster than on existing devices.
It’s likely to appear in business and educational environments, where current e-readers struggle to handle material such as engineering plans and diagrams. The companioes also hope to market it in China and other countries that use character-based text, which can appear fuzzy and hard to read at lower resolutions.
“We developed this device specifically to meet the high data demands of business and academia,” says Torao Yajima, Epson managing director.
“Our IC controller and processing power enables the display to handle large files while maintaining the excellent display control and operability found in today’s EPDs, including fast page navigation and a sophisticated user interface.”
Epson is making a high-resolution, high-speed display controller platform optimized for the display. E Ink will manufacture, sell and support the displays themselves, which measure 9.68 inches on the diagonal – bigger than most existing e-readers but about the same size as the Kindle DX and the iPad.
There’s no word from the companies about where the displays might appear, but the close match with the size of the Kindle could provide a clue.
