Yesterday, Engadget reported that LG is putting 19-inch flexible e-paper displays into production. They also ran a photo of what they believe to be the paper in action from last January:
And may I say: Holy shit. The idea of a bendable newspaper that changes as the news changes is an incredible idea that feels at once incredibly new and very old-school futuristic. But this e-paper is just a display—you’d need hardware to actually send the information wirelessly to the paper, and that hardware probably wouldn’t be as flexible as the display itself—and Engadget assumes that this technology will mostly be used for signage and other display purposes. I have no doubt that one day (probably soon, at the rate we’re going) these displays would be ready for newspapers to use.
But I don’t have any confidence (especially since, as Eli pointed out in the Morning News, even USA Today is surrendering a great deal of ground from the daily paper newspaper game) that the newspaper will still be a compelling object by the time this technology catches up to the display. More likely, some future version of the Kindle will be a sheet you can roll up and stuff into your pocket. But by then the newspaper broadsheet will be mostly done with as a meaningful cultural symbol.
What’s the point? My lap top is fine. Maybe if they could project the news onto my eyeballs from some nifty glasses, now that would be cool. But I’m not lugging around some big sheet.
An e-read that you could shove into your back pocket like a paperback would be pretty handy.
@1: Are you one of those jerkos who uses their 17″ laptop while on a crowded bus?
I fail to see why this is better than the iPad 3D projection – it makes pie charts dance and jiggle across the screen. and it doesn’t bother the person in the seat next to me, other than when I spit up my latte’ when I watch a funny vid.
Although, admittedly, the upcoming iTouch 3D with reader glasses will do pretty much the same thing.
@1: Minority Report has some great scenes with disposable, self-updating newspapers. They’re not as flashy as Tom Cruise’s whizbang arms-length data manipulation, but you could use them for 15 minutes without making your arms sore. Compared to that, your laptop (or my iPad) might as well be an Atari.
@4, so help me, Christ, Will, THAT DOESN’T EXIST.
Nifty. This would be perfect for people who want to read the paper in the back of their limos while they’re in the billionaires’ tunnel.
@7: The limos aren’t going to take the Billionaires’ Tunnel. It’s not for billionaires to actually DRIVE on, it’s just so they don’t have to look at the rest of us as we drive.
@6: And “iTouch” isn’t even a word.
you guys need to learn that not everything that is being made is on the Net. a lot is in fab shops overseas. i can’t help it that you’re slow on the uptake.
You probably think all our troops are home from Iraq too …
@9 (check trademark filings – do i have to teach you guys how marketing and business work EVERY SINGLE TIME ….)
@8 ftw.
The Hoi Polloi are really annoying when you’re trying to get to your private jet to go to a golf outing.
@9, see? It’s not just me, is it? It’s like having some asshole banging pans outside your window at 3 AM.
Fab shops overseas. I swear to God. Someone needs to put you out of your misery, Will. OUR misery.
@11: Who cares about trademark filings? Walk into a store and ask for an “iTouch” and all you’ll get is a look of pity.
@11, you do not know how marketing and business work, as evidenced by the fact that Apple has not registered the tradmark “iTouch”. A company called Oliso has, for their line of STEAM IRONS.
Trademark filings, I ask you.
It is honestly incredible how, whenever you are caught in a lie, no matter how obvious, you will attempt to create a mountain of bullshit to defend yourself, when even a five-year-old can see at a glance that you’re full of shit. Never in a million years could you just say, “whoops, I obviously meant this”. Would the entire edifice of your personality crumble if you admitted even the slightest scratch?
Seriously, what kind of person says “iTouch” by mistake, and when called on it, claims it’s real, and accuses the person who called him on it of not following trademark filings? You’re pathological, Will.
As for “fab shops overseas”, let’s just play a little hypothetical game here — let’s say Will is right and Apple is making 3D iPads unannounced in some dim factory overseas. How do you suppose that Will in Seattle, literally the dumbest schlub in the history of the world, got hold of this information before any of the thousands of tech journalists and industrial spies in the world? And how do you think Apple would react to this exposure?
You’re not credible, Will. Nothing you say is credible. Nothing you say is remotely believable. You’re a liar. Lying is the core of your being.
I’ll admit that “fab shops overseas” is a pretty good Gondry-ish alternate phrase for “my imagination”, assuming that’s what you meant by it.
I’ve never liked full size newspapers. Big, difficult to handle and read and basically obnoxious when read on the bus. The Stranger is in a good form factor, but who needs all that paper when I’m only going to actually read a dozen of the pages? Wasteful. OTOH, an iPad is color, compact and easy to use. I can’t wait for newsprint to die. The sooner the better.
This is so Caprica.