An electronic book that is the size of a newspaper

Seven millimeters thick, big as a sheet of paper and looking like a notebook drive this amazing document, submitted by Plastic Logic, displays text, charts or PowerPoint presentations on a plastic screen. In short, it is an electronic book, but dedicated to the business world. This destination and its large display, thin and sensitive, clearly distinct from the current models.

At the conference DemoFall 08, San Diego, the company Plastic Logic has seemingly caused a sensation with a new model of electronic book (e-paper for some), which can be compared to the Sony Reader, the Cybook of Booken, the Microsoft Reader and the Amazon Kindle. They share a screen made of “electronic ink”, presenting a good contrast (black and white) and do not require energy to keep the information visible. Reading a text is comfortable and the text all the rest you want.

Until then, these models were primarily dedicated to reading books downloaded. The Kindle, sold in the United States, do not even know that and that only reads files created in a specific format. With limited use and a high price, the formula has never really taken.

Turn the pages by hand
Reader demonstrated by Plastic Logic could change the situation. Its appearance is completely different. The device does not resemble at all to a computer or other books. Off, it could pass for a simple piece of cardboard or plastic.

Although successful, the prototype shown DemoFall (and some other past events) is extremely late, with 7 mm. Its screen uses a technology developed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom to achieve a flexible display without glass. An active matrix organic transistors is filed, cold, on a support of polymer. Each pixel is controlled by a transistor and is more or less transparent, with the possibility of four levels of gray for a comprehensive resolution of 150 dots per inch.

The screen size to 21.6 by 27.9 centimeters, or more than the competition, and the machine weighs only 160 grams (no glass there is a lot). It sensitive is over, thus turning the pages by hand, or annotate a document. Connections, limited to a mini-plug USB, takes place on the thin side, so the Reader takes the form of a notebook. Exchanges with a PC can also be done through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

The Reader’s originality lies elsewhere in this destination. It is not a reader of electronic books downloaded from a Web site. It is a mobile display to connect to a computer, which accepts all kinds of document formats, including PDF and the Office suite, Microsoft, which can be carried in a bag. In addition, several Reader can exchange documents, radio and all participants in a meeting can take a PowerPoint presentation without the need for a projection.

The price is not yet determined, nor, it seems, the amount of memory included but we know that this device will be marketed without equivalent in early 2009.

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