This document summarizes the history and evolution of e-reader technology from 1971 to the present. It traces the development of early e-books on mainframe computers and dedicated e-reader devices like the Franklin Rocket and Sony Libre. Major milestones included the introduction of e-ink displays, touchscreens, backlights, and color e-ink. The document also profiles popular e-readers from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, and others and how their features changed with each new model release. It concludes by discussing emerging flexible, foldable and color e-ink display technologies.
2. 1971: Project Gutenberg
• Started with the
U.S. Constitution
typed into a
mainframe
• Now contains
over 40,000 free
e-texts in
multiple DRMfree formats
3. 1988: NeXT Computer
• First computer to
include searchable
eBooks.
• Oxford Shakespeare &
Oxford Dictionary of
Quotations
4. 1989: Cyberbooks
• Foresaw the current
state of eReaders
• Predicted the “end of
publishing as we know
it”
5. 1993: Apple Newton
• The first “Personal
Digital Assistant”
• “Newton Books”
• Suspended in 1998
6. 1998: Franklin EB-500 Rocket eBook
• Ergonomic, ambidextrous
design, about the size of a
paperback
• 1.3 lbs
• Stores about 4,000 pages-the equivalent of 10 novels
• Speech-quality audio for
documents published with
audio content
• Long battery life--17 to 33
hours per charge
• $369
7. 1998: SoftBook Reader
• 2.9lbs
• 9.5” touch-screen w/
stylus
• Built-in 33.6 Kbps
modem; download
approximately 100
pages per minute
• 5hrs per charge
• $599.95, or $299.95 plus
$19.95 per month for a
24 month "content
package" contract
(totalling $778.75)
8. 2000: Microsoft Reader
• PC eBook reading software
• ClearType technology
• Annotations
• Pan & Zoom
• Highlighting
• Dictionary
• Battery life dependent on
platform (desktop vs. laptop)
• Suspended in 2012
9. 2002: Palm Trēo
• Mobipocket Reader software
• Download content over the
air (OTA)
• Desktop sync
• Annotation
• Highlighting
• Dictionary
• Software compatible with
devices other than the Treo
10. 2002: TabletPC
• Used in
combination
with Microsoft
Reader
software
• Promoted as a
“reader” due
to ability to
easily convert
screen to
portrait mode
11. 2004: Sony Libré
• First eInk-based
device
• AAA batteries
• Available only in
Japan
12. What is "eInk"
Content is not drawn, but “charged”
170 Pixels Per Inch (PPI)
Newspaper quality
Does not need power to hold a display, only to change it.
13. 09/2006 eReader PRS-500
• Display
•
•
•
•
eInk / non-backlit
800x600 resolution
Rotatable
4-level grayscale
•
Three text sizes
• 64MB built in storage
• SD/Memory Stick card
slot
• USB data transfer
• Approximately 7,500
page turns per charge
• Approx. 9oz
20. 11/2009: Barnes & Noble Nook
• 6” eInk display and 3.5” color control
display
• 12.1oz
• Android 1.5
• Can share a book once with another
person for up to two weeks
21. 04/2010: Apple iPad
• iBooks app included
• Kindle app available
• “text-to-voice” via
VoiceOver
• 1.5lbs
• 9.7” backlit glossy screen
• Automatic screen rotation
• WiFi and/or 3G
• 9+ hours of battery life
depending on Internet
connectivity used
31. 05/2013 – Sony Digital Paper
• 13.3” 1600x1200
capacitive eInk
flexible display
• Stylus for note
taking
• Educational market
• Testing in Japanese
universities
• Shared document
editing over WiFi
planned
33. 2014: Color eInk Kindle?
• In May 2013 Amazon.com purchases
Liquavista from Samgung.
• Liquavista
makes screen
technologies
that allow for
affordable
color eInk
displays.
Mine’s autographed. Oh yeah, autograph my Kindle Mr. Bova!
“The principal components of electronic ink are millions of tiny microcapsules, about the diameter of a human hair. In one incarnation, each microcapsule contains positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles suspended in a clear fluid. When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to the top of the microcapsule where they become visible to the user. This makes the surface appear white at that spot. At the same time, an opposite electric field pulls the black particles to the bottom of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule, which now makes the surface appear dark at that spot.”http://www.eink.com/technology/howitworks.html