LG Display is creating a stir with their newest 19-inch flexible e-paper display that's almost as large as a tabloid newspaper and more than eight times bigger than the popular 6-inch Kindles and Nooks. This could be the killer technology newspaper companies have been looking for.
The bendable screen which is virtually paper thin measures 25 cm x 40 cm (9.8" x 15.7"). It boasts a 19-inch screen that is just .3 millimeters thin. The prototype weighs 130 grams and is the largest flexible e-paper the industry has ever produced, the company said.
According to the Korea Times, "in developing its e-newspaper device, LG Display laid out thin-film transistors (TFTs) on a metal foil, instead of the more conventionally-used glass substrate, which allows the display to be flexible. The display only weighs 130 grams and is highly power efficient."
How power efficient? It uses no power unless it is refreshed and even if the power is turned off, the image, which is nearly identical to paper print, continues to be displayed.
Describing the science behind the Skiff, an 11.5 inch e-reader that uses the same LG panel technology, Wired explained that LG "used a sheet of stainless-steel foil for the back of the display, instead of the glass layer that is the foundation of most e-paper displays available currently. The result is a thinner device that is less likely to break."
The Skiff Reader was introduced at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week by New York publishing company Hearst. The e-reader, which can last over a week of average use between charge, will be sold later this year in more than 1,000 Sprint retail outlets across the U.S. The device will let users directly download magazine issues, books and newspapers.