Education and electronic paper in France

After an evaluation of the different digital technologies, Xavier Darcos, the Minister of Education in France, has decided that devices based on electronic ink will be experimented as of the back-to-school period in September 2008.
As part of this evaluation, we’d prepared a presentation of the evolution perspectives of inks and substrates, and of their applications; we’d also prepared samples of meaningful content, a play (to read or listen to) and examples of geometry animations.
In 1501, the transportable book was invented in order to provide students with the course material they were lacking (teachers themselves rarely had access to books!). Today, with the objective of making schoolbags lighter, there’s a fantastic opportunity to imagine applications of this new medium for access to knowledge and its diffusion.
Thus France is joining countries, such as China, that are making this new technology a major challenge for education and the sharing of knowledge.
Read the press release (in French)...

Using electronic books

Being lucky enough to have well-prepared Gutenberg.org volumes for a 170-gram reader, I use this medium more and more often for reading. I don't claim to prefer it to a conventional book, but in some circumstances it's much more convenient. On the plane a few days ago, I realized something obvious: after reading for some time, there's no fatigue of the hand nor of the wrist, which one had nevertheless got used to bearing in such uncomfortable conditions; and one enjoys much more freedom of choice of positions. It's really very pleasant.

Nemoptic awarded...

The 2007 Frost & Sullivan European Technology Innovation Of The Year Award in the field of electronic paper displays goes to Nemoptic. The press release is here...

After Samsung and Motorola, NTT DoCoMo

As was the case of Samsung and Motorola, the entry of NTT DoCoMo in the world of electronic ink is far from insignificant. The telecommunications giant exhibited at CEATEC Japan 2007 the prototype of a mobile phone that uses electronic ink to display its keys.
This is the proof that a sustainable business model is under study, if not confirmed. This new technology allows the manufacturer to make its productions "neutral": the phone keys will adopt the language, the size and soon the layout chosen by the user, which will provide a great degree of flexibility in terms of ergonomics (contextual menus and key in, variable key size, etc.) and will require far less financial, technical and computing resources than fixed buttons. In an industrial sector where products are sold in hundreds of millions, NTT DoCoMo's foray demonstrates, if a
demonstration was really required, the maturity of electronic ink and paper technology, in particular that of SiPix Imaging. But it may also be a means for Japanese corporations to recover leadership in this fast-growing field.

Sony PRS 505 and the electronic ink market

The third product in a new category is always a remarkable event. Such is the case with Sony:
The Librié, first e-reader based on electronic ink from E Ink, offered all of today's dream functions: reading of RSS feeds or of print driver output on a PC, PDF, dictionary, keyboard for typing notes. The second product, the PRS 500, seems to have been the outcome of a focus group, for example the joystick (who would read Hemingway with such an interface?!), the too numerous buttons, the poor battery. The third product, just announced, the PRS 505, corrects many of the limitations of its predecessor and is positioned as a mature reader. Above all, it comes with more content and a broader agreement with Borders. But it must ensure continuity with the previous e-reader, and more importantly, it seeks to target the book market frontally, without making full use of the capabilities of this new medium. Is that really a good idea? We'll see.
Between the first and the third attempt, a major phenomenon went almost unnoticed: electronic ink, paper, newspapers and soon books have become a reality that can't be ignored! It's worth following very closely...

7th Tebaldo Conference - Communicating electronic paper

Mark your agenda! - The 7th Tebaldo Conference, "Communicating electronic paper, strategies and issues", will be held in Paris on October 26, from 9.30am to 3pm.
The conference will feature the exceptional participation of Stéphanie Chevrier, Literary Director at Flammarion, who will present the market position of novels enriched for electronic paper; the conference will also cover experience feedback from the e-paper project of the French business newspaper Les Echos, the position of brands, the decoding of numerous projects under way as well as of production processes; it will also provide the opportunity to present the latest ink and paper technologies (Vizplex), including colour.
Practical details and registration...

New Vizplex electronic paper - Ganaxa GeR2

As its conventional equivalent, electronic paper evolves. Here is (on the left) the brand-new Vizplex from E Ink, featured in the GeR2 e-reader from Ganaxa: higher clarity, better contrast (especially in low light) and noticeably higher refresh speed:

More information on www.ganaxa.com