The future of eBooks: A perfect storm product

Various eBooks on the market

Forty years ago, Michael Hart laid the groundwork for eBooks with Project Guttenberg¹. What began as a small non-profit endeavor to provide books to the masses has since blossomed into a multibillion dollar industry. While eBook technology has made great strides in its brief history, it should be noted that eBooks are still in their infancy compared to other technologies.

Where do eBooks stand today?

Current eBooks are still trying to find that perfect combination of looks, inner-workings and functionality. This search has lead to two very different sets of technology: eBooks based on electronic ink, seen in devices like Amazon’s Kindle; or LCD-based readers in the vein of Apple’s iPad.

There are more eBooks on the market using electronic ink than LCD technology. As previously mentioned, this technology differs from your laptop or desktop in a number of ways.

Flexible display in action

Flexible Displays

The first difference is noticed in its casing. eBooks use what is called a flexible display, which is similar to paper in a variety of ways. Flexible displays are thin, light-weight and extremely durable. The display also presents content differently in that it relies electronic ink to form words and images instead of pixels².

Electronic Ink

Electronic ink can be applied to the same materials that regular ink can be printed on. In the form of a digital book, the ink is within the millions of microcapsules of the flexible display³. Each microcapsule is wired to microelectronics that apply either a positive or negative charge to the microcapsule to create the desired text or image³.

Alternate technical illustration of electronic ink. First one can be found in "What makes eBooks so darn special?" blog.

Compared to LCD screens, electronic ink allows for roughly twice the resolution, better visibility in sunlight, and requires much less energy². However, there are some downsides to this technology.

LCD-based displays are known for their vivid use of color and ability to display motion graphics. Despite explorations in the world of color⁴, electronic ink is currently only able to show content in blue and white³. And due to the slow refresh rate of electronic ink, it’s unable to present quality motion graphics⁴.

The video above is an example of how motion graphics currently display using electronic ink.

Implications of eBooks in the book industry

As eBooks become more affordable and accessible, many publishers share a growing concern that the book industry may be in jeopardy. But there are some publishers that welcome the change.

While newspaper and magazine publishers may wait around for the technology to standardize, publishers like Penguin Books can shape the industry to their liking by participating in the development of eBooks⁵.

Penguin Books sees this new technology as an opportunity rather than a constraint. John Makinson, CEO of Penguin Books, has recently been quoted as saying, “The definition of the book itself is up for grabs⁵.” Aside from willingly publishing digital content, Penguin Books is also launching their own applications as supporting content for their products⁵.

eBooks of the future

An idea of what eBooks might look like 10-15 years from today.

While sales for eBooks have been steadily increasing, it was the iPad that has dominated the market – selling over two million devices in 60 days⁷. And while the iPad uses LCD-based technology rather than electronic ink, its popularity indicated that media convergence is a desired, if not necessary, trait in today’s world.

If you look at the marketplace, people are already reading eBooks on their iPhones and listening to music on their eBooks⁶. But current eBook technology limits the media it can distribute. In the future I envision an electronic ink/LCD hybrid that utilizes the best traits of both worlds. This single future device may even replace all other technologies, resulting in a perfect storm product.

The future is on the horizon, and we’re just seeing a glimpse of it.

Sources:

1. ^”eBooks.” Wikipedia, 19 Apr. 2010. Web.
2. ^Woodford, Chris. “Electronic Books.” Explain That Stuff!.” Apr. 09 2010. Web.
3. ^Bonsor, Kevin. “How Electronic Ink Works.” How Stuff Works. Discovery, 2010. Web.
4. ^Springmann, Alessondra. “Color E-ink: Electrowetting Brings Color and Video to E-book Reader Screens.” PC World. PC World Communications, Inc., Apr. 23 2010. Web.
5. ^Weir, David. “How the Future of eBooks is Up for Grabs.” BNET (15 Mar 2010). Web. 24 May 2010.
6. ^Enderle, Rob. “The Future of eBooks: Flexible Screens and Beyond.” Digital Trends (15 Dec 2009): 1-2. Web. 24 May 2010.
7. ^Kumar, Mathew. “iPad Sells Two Million in Sixty Days, Outpacing iPhone’s Launch.” 1UP. UGO Entertainment, 01 Jun 2010. Web. 2 Jun 2010.

What makes eBooks so darn special?

Will the eBook replace its ancestor?

Of all media, the book is the only format that has provided entertainment for centuries while demanding very little in return. So how can eBook technology compete against a seemingly perfect medium?

LCD Screens Just Don’t Work

Over the past 40 years, eBook technology has grown exponentially, with the most significant developments being its display. In the beginning, the first eReaders used small versions of LCD laptop screens. These displays had a resolution of about 90 pixels per inch (ppi), which led to the unsightly pixilation of content¹.

No need to adjust your speakers. This video has no sound.

Modern eReaders use what is called a flexible display. Flexible displays are actually a plastic similar to paper. It’s super thin, incredibly light in weight, and, compared to an LCD screen, is extremely durable. Flexible displays also differ from LCDs because they do not rely on pixels to create content. Instead, eReaders are currently working with something called ‘electronic ink’.

Understanding Electronic Ink

Shortened to e-ink, this new technology displays words and images by using tiny black and white plastic granules that move about inside microscopic, spherical capsules under precise electronic control. This allows for displays that are twice the resolution of ordinary computer screens, are clearly visible in sunlight, and require much less power consumption – making it the only technology which rivals paper¹.

To fully understand the process of e-ink, imagine that the flexible display is divided into a grid-like layout. Within each square are millions of microcapsules or cavities, measuring 100 microns wide. To give you a better perspective of the size, roughly 100,000 microcapsules can fit into a square inch of paper².

Technical illustration of electronic ink

Inside each microcapsule or cavity float pigmented chips or balls with a negative charge and, depending on the e-ink brand, either an ink or oily substance. Each square is wired to microelectronics embedded into the flexible display and when active, apply a positive or negative charge to the microcapsule to create the desired text or images².

eBooks Experiment with Color Displays

Today’s e-ink works with white chips and blue ink, but multicolor displays and motion graphics are in the works. Aside from more developments in e-ink, other possible technologies include ones based on a type of microelectromechanical system and electrowetting.

The microelectromechanical system, currently being developed by Mirasol, uses tiny mobile reflective surfaces to change the state of colors. This is compared to the iridescence seen in nature, i.e., butterfly wings and peacock feathers³.

Technical illustration of Mirasol display

The electrowetting process is presently only available in Europe, having been developed by a company called LiquiVista and hopes to create displays that are capable of producing color or video. While the Kindle is capable of displaying low quality video, the electrowetting process relies on an electric charge to move colored oil drops to change a display’s color or play video at a higher quality⁴.

eBooks have much more to offer than as a means of allowing users to save space. Its screen technologies are giving traditional books some competition with the development of energy-saving technology and adaptable screens, with seemingly more innovations to come. With the advancement of modern technology, one has to wonder if centuries-old book will measure up to that of eBooks within the next 50 years?

Source(s):

1. ^Woodford, Chris. “Electronic Books.” Explain That Stuff!. Apr. 09 2010. Web.

2. ^Bonsor, Kevin. “How Electronic Ink Works.” How Stuff Works. Discovery, 2010. Web.

3. ^”Mirasol Display: Ebook Reader Technology Takes Flight.” eBook Reader Resource. 2009. Web.

4. ^Springmann, Alessondra. “Color E-ink: Electrowetting Brings Color and Video to E-book Reader Screens.” PC World. PC World Communications, Inc., Apr. 23 2010. Web.