Sony releases the Holy Grail: A flexible e-ink screen

E-readers are fast replacing books and are responsible for many a book store close down. However, even though they ARE replacing books, they still aren’t replacing much paper.

This is because E-readers aren’t suited for some purposes; they aren’t flexible like paper.

Sony is about to change that. It had showcased a prototype of it’s Digital Paper device before. It is just like it’s name says: Digital Paper . Flexible and what not.

And now, Sony has slapped on a release date on it. It is releasing in Early May and for a hefty price tag. Be prepared to shell out, as this thing costs $1100.

For that, you get a 13.3 inch 16 level Grayscale touchscreen with no back light. The screen has a resolution of 1200*1600 pixels. The touchscreen also supports stylus input.

It has got 4GB internal storage expandable via a SD card. It weighs 12.6 Oz.

While it is a pretty cool concept, it is just that: A concept. Who would in their right mind shell out $1100 for a device which can only read PDFs and that too in black and white. However, this is the first generation of Digital Paper. That is how it goes with first generations, they are always pricier than their subsequent revisions. So it can be expected that it’s price will drop further on.

In traditional E-ink device fashion, this has stellar battery life. One charge can make it go on for upto 3 weeks.

Sources:  Sony official site