Stories about: Electronic Ink

Amazon.com's Kindle has turned a long under performing category of tech gadget -- e-book readers -- into an overnight hit, and in the process has boosted interest in electronic paper display (EPD) technology. The Kindle and its rival, the Sony Reader 505, both boast e-paper displays that look unnervingly like printed pages and consume next to no power. However, today's EPDs -- and today's e-book readers -- are only the beginning.

Sometimes a technology idea is too good to be true. A flexible keyboard, Internet voting and watching feature films on your smart phone are examples. Today, these concepts are still evolving, but they're broken right now. I'll tell you why and what could be done to fix them once and for all.

Motorola launched an entry-level cell phone on Tuesday, hoping to make up ground on rival Nokia by selling a large number of the simple handsets instead of relying on high-priced smartphones.

Over the next 10 years, thin-film polymers and other flexible substrates could change how people think about and use displays. In the future, you may "print out" reports to sheets of e-paper: flexible polymer displays about as thick as a sheet of paper that can be spread out on a desk for easy comparison and analysis and then reused when the work is done. Your PDA or cell phone may incorporate a roll-up display that extends to let you view maps or Web pages on a larger screen. Your laptop may have a secondary display on the back of the case that can maintain any image you choose, such as your schedule and to-do list -- and you'll be able to refer to it even when the laptop is turned off. Some displays may be embedded on a shirt sleeve or curve around a watchband.

When it comes to futuristic concepts, few ideas have captured the imagination like pen-based computing. The idea of doing away with a cumbersome keyboard for navigating and entering information has long been a Holy Grail, but it has met with little success. Microsoft's Tablet PC operating system has failed to take the world by storm.

For years, analysts have been predicting that electronic paper, or e-paper, would set the stage for the paperless office. Until recently, however, developing a paper substitute was not an easy proposition. And even today, business applications of the technology remain limited.

Saying they aim to make computers more portable, intuitive and easy-to-use, a group of industry stalwarts formally launched Motion Computing Monday, with plans to unveil the new company's first tablet PC prototype at the TechXNY trade show next month.

Saying they aim to make computers more portable, intuitive and easy-to-use, a group of industry stalwarts formally launched Motion Computing Monday, with plans to unveil the new company's first tablet PC prototype at the TechXNY trade show next month.

Saying they aim to make computers more portable, intuitive and easy-to-use, a group of industry stalwarts formally launched Motion Computing Monday, with plans to unveil the new company's first tablet PC prototype at the TechXNY trade show next month.

You've seen the ads selling the wonders of the World Wide Web. Scored to rock and roll, the images and styles tend toward the outrageous and the bizarre. Cowboys herd cats. Hamsters hurtle through the air. The Mona Lisa's head pops off.

It will look like any other digital sign. Every minute or so, the message will change. It might flash, "Bananas on sale," because it knows that there are too many bananas in the stockroom.