Comments on: Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and the Future of Publishing

By: yjkkk

yjkkk — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:40:51 +0000

I have several questions/comments want to share with you guys:
1. Do you have any idea what kind of fluid E-ink is using to fill the Kindle display? If it is flammable and harmful, is it so funny to claim green and enviromently friendly product?
2. I do not believe that Kindle has one order of magnitude high of contrast compared with reflective LCD. They are 10 vs 4. Not 40 vs 4.
3. The higher price of Kindle is mostly linked to the poor film yield of E-ink manufacture. In near future they are most likely will not improve it due to the inherent difficult of their manufacture process.
4. E-ink has difficult to get nice full color film due to its inherent technology challenge. They can use color filter, but the color is so dull. Without color and video speed. This kind of display will out of market soon or later

By: Rick ills

Rick ills — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:56:10 +0000

I have the Sony reader. The claim of over 7,000 page turns only holds if you do it in 2 weeks. I use the reader for referencing and every time I open it up the battery’s dead. Doesn’t hold a charge or more than 2 weeks. Pooh Pooh.

By: Gnar

Gnar — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:56:11 +0000

Last month I was excited about eInk, and then I saw the $3000 dev-kit price available in only one size.

Then I became un-interested.

If they don’t want to see their product succeed, and by that I mean shutting out the very people who would be most likely to create innovative uses, then I applaud them.

100 dollar gumstick + 2900 dollar eink display equals why bother. May as well buy a Kindle and just use it rather then innovate.

By: Software appliances, onshore outsourcing, digital trends, E-Paper, and more tidbits - Emerging Tech Testing Blog -

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:11:48 +0000

[...] continue to fall in love with my Kindle 2. This xconemy post drills into the amazing E-Paper technology behind the Kindle. The article make me want to run out [...]

By: E-book Readers Push The Epd Technology | Electronic Book Readers, Compare and Buy

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:23:21 +0000

[...] Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and … [...]

By: Robert B

Robert B — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:11:30 +0000

@Wade Roush: Curse my fast reading ability :( I typically end up reading 1/4 to 1/2 of a book just before falling asleep.

By: Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and the Future of Publishing | neo-sentinel.info

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:03:58 +0000

[...] By distributing electronically, the book-publishing industry could save 30 percent on their costs, which would add $25 billion a year to their profitability. (Source: http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/02/26/kindling-a-revolution-e-inks-russ-wilcox-on-e-paper-amazon-…) [...]

By: Kindle 3.0?: Russ Wilcox on the Future of “E Ink”, the Electronic Newspaper, and the Electronic Book « Prometheus Unbound

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:18:09 +0000

[...] spoke to Xconomy.com and set dates for what’s just over the horizon with regard to “e-paper.” [...]

By: The Status Of E-Ink « Tai-Chi Policy

The Status Of E-Ink « Tai-Chi Policy — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:46:46 +0000

[...] 27, 2009 Posted by taoist in Cool Stuff. Tags: Displays, E-Ink, Science, Technology trackback An interview with the co-founder. It’s a cool technology, and I’m glad to see it becoming more popular, but it’s [...]

By: Salvatore A. Buttice

Salvatore A. Buttice — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:27:04 +0000

I personally use my old Palm T|X to read my ebooks using Mobipocket. Love the thing, although I wish it had a better battery life. It’s more compact and easy to carry (on a belt clip), so I don’t have to lug this huge square around with me wherever I go. And it’s also useful for other things than just reading books.

As for if it’s worth it, really it probably isn’t. I use it for convenience but you still pay 4-8 dollars per paperback, and 15-25 for books released in hardcover. And that is PURE profit, since the hosting compared to publishing/shipping/etc. is pretty cheap.

I still like dead tree editions of books. I still buy them, and still put them up on shelves in my house. I feel pretty safe with a paperback, and if I screw it up I can get another cheap. Lose 1 – 512meg SD card though, and my 500 books are history if there’s a HD problem (which has happened to me. Do you know how long it takes to redownload 500 books?)

By: jra’s thoughts › A Secret of the Economics of Manufacturing

jra’s thoughts › A Secret of the Economics of Manufacturing — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:55:09 +0000

[...] saw this quote in an article on E-Ink: If you ever want to make a billion of anything cheaply, you print [...]

By: Jaya Kumar

Jaya Kumar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:28:50 +0000

Jason, you said “what’s wrong with reading a book the same way your grandfather did?”. I won’t take that argument to its logical conclusion by talking about caves, horse drawn buggies and whale blubber lighting. There are numerous reasons for preferring e-paper to paper. The environmental and monetary cost of producing paper, even recycled paper via harvesting, branching, transportation, pulping, refining, bleaching, printing, and more transportation is simply unsustainable. The fact that we can do that using wireless and an electronic display is just plain progress. Yes, folks who are in those industries will encounter change. That’s a good thing.

By: Jaya Kumar

Jaya Kumar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:19:41 +0000

joeshuren, That’s an interesting question that you asked about comparing “Kindle 2 and also an OLPC XO-1″. I have both displays, specifically, an E-Ink Vizplex display and an OLPC-XO-1 and the XO is in reflective mode. The E-Ink vizplex display is orders of magnitudes better in terms of contrast, reflectivity and viewing angle. You then go on to say “that Pixel Qi says it will come out with screens even better than the XO-1, using the same LCD production lines as now, at much reduced prices, and with huge power savings.”. That’s nice, lets talk about that once its actually here and available.

By: 01 blog » Blog Archive » Kindle 2 Unboxing plus Interview mit dem E-Ink-Erfinder

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:12:41 +0000

[...] Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and the Future of Publishing (via /.) [...]

By: Kindle 3 thoughts - Amazon needs to move beyond eInk « Kindle 2, Kindle 2.0 Books Reader - Amazon Kindle 2 Review

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:20:41 +0000

[...] Amazon needs to move beyond eInk Posted on February 26, 2009 by switch11 After reading, the interview with Russ Wilcox (CEO, eInk) it’s worth pondering the feature release schedule he outlines for eInk screens [...]

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:04:49 +0000

I love the whole “will save the world xx billion a year” comments they repeatedly mention. In fact, this will put a lot of people out of business- there’s lots of jobs in the printing/paper industry. Besides, what’s wrong with reading a book the same way your grandfather did?

By: joeshuren

joeshuren — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:35:25 +0000

Wade, please get a Kindle 2 and also an OLPC XO-1 and compare them in e-book mode. Consider that Pixel Qi says it will come out with screens even better than the XO-1, using the same LCD production lines as now, at much reduced prices, and with huge power savings. Consider that the screens will be as readable as the Kindle’s but much more useful as they already have color and fast refresh. Consider that the screen technology will not be used to lock in proprietary business model like Amazon’s.

By: Kindle 2 - eInk’s Russ Wilcox on eInk’s future + K2 Links « Kindle 2, Kindle 2.0 Books Reader - Amazon Kindle 2 Review

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:52:54 +0000

[...] best of the bunch is this fascinating interview with eInk’s CEO and co-founder Russ Wilcox, with some company history - E Ink was launched in 1997, and has had to raise more than $150 [...]

By: Incremental Blogger » Blog Archive » E Ink Broadsheet display engine supports touch and ink

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:52:02 +0000

[...] don’t know where I’ve been, but I see from this xconomy.com article that the E Ink display driver in the Kindle 2 actually supports pen and touch. I don’t know how well these two features work, but it definitely suggests that given more [...]

By: Wade Roush

Wade Roush — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:44:29 +0000

Wow, Robert. That’s, like, a book every two days. When do you find time to work?! Actually, I’ve heard the same thing from other readers, including the previous commenter, Dan Weinreb: i.e., that if you are a true bookworm who likes to take lots of material with you wherever you go, the Kindle is ideal.