Anyone know why E-book readers come no cheaper than $200 a pop? This article from March 2006 opened my eyes as to why readers may be so expensive. The article starts off by making the point that many PDA users may not only be using their BlackBerry's and Palms for just email or notes, but they may also be using these common hand held devices to be the medium for an e-book. The segway into the meat of the article comes in one easy sentence, "That may be a great book, but an uncomfortable means of reading it." The main point of this article is about Electronick-Ink Microcapsules, which are positively and negatively charged white and black beads, suspended in a clear liquid, which is being used in E-book reader screens. This technology is supposed to help in the reading process of text. Due to poorly backlit LCD screens, it makes reading e-books on Palms or BlackBerry PDA's very difficult, which in turn make the experience of reading an e-book overwhelming and not worth it. The E-Ink Microcapsules are designed to immitate the physics of paper. Like I mentioned before, these microcapsules are divided into positively charged white beads and negatively charged black beads. The way this works is, if a positive charge runs through the device, the black beads (being negatively charged) will rise to the top of the clear liquid they are suspended in and then become visible, and vise versa. The article goes on to say that this idea makes up a four-color greyscale screen that reflects light the exact same way it would be on paper. This allows people who read e-books to be faced with a paperless yet paperlike reading experience. With all this technology, you can understand why e-book readers are so expensive now. However, I do have a question for everyone to think about. Notice how through technological advancements, we are able to create paperlike reading in a paperless device that costs a big chunk of change. It seems that no matter how far we try and get away from the physical paper books, something about it always pulls us back. So is it worth spending an enormous amount of money on something that just wants to emulate the physical paper filled book?
Reference:
http://www.physorg.com/news62943824.html