Electronic books with electronic ink - personal libraries that are always with you

Previously, a mobile device, capable of storing a home library and at the same time possessing very modest dimensions, could be found only in one of the fantastic stories. Now electronic books with electronic ink can be bought without any problems in almost any computer equipment store or ordered online. What they are, what are the advantages and disadvantages, this is exactly what will be discussed in our article.

Smart ink

Electronic paper, which is used books with electronic ink, appeared in the 70's of the 20 th century. The first device using this technology was called a "gericon". In it, the space between the two transparent sheets was filled with a thin layer of very small polyethylene balls and then poured with oil. Each ball was painted in two colors: the first half of the surface - in white, and the second - in black. Depending on the sign of the supplied charge, the layer was turned upside down by either side. As a result, a white or black dot appeared on the surface of such a device. In practice, such an invention was not widely used, but at the same time it inspired inventors for new research. Modern electronic books with electronic ink work on the basis of an LCD matrix that contains a layer of transparent microcapsules. In each of them there is a viscous liquid in which there are particles of white and black color. The former are charged with a positive charge, and the second ones are negative. As soon as a positive charge enters this cell, the white particles will pounce from the bottom of the "electronic paper" and float to the surface. Black particles charged negatively, on the contrary, will be pulled down. As a result, the point of the image in this place will turn white. If you apply a negative charge to the capsule, the reverse process will occur, and at that point the pixel will turn black.

Benefits

Electronic books with electronic ink can accommodate a solid library, which you can take everywhere with you. Many "readers" are able to access the Internet, where you can replenish your collection with a new bestseller. In addition, such devices usually have a headphone jack, if the eyes are tired, you can listen to an audiobook or relax with music. The most important advantage that an e-book possesses with an ink in front of a monitor is that the image does not flicker on it. This means that the eyes will not be so tired. Due to low power consumption, the charge will last for several weeks, and even if you turn off the power, the image will remain on the screen for a long time, since the lion's share of energy is spent only on the initial drawing. The low weight of the device and the independence of the quality of the picture from the angle of the screen is an additional plus, which makes it possible to successfully compete with such gadgets with plain paper.

disadvantages

Electronic books with electronic ink have three drawbacks. The first negative is the low speed of image formation. For this reason, you will not be able to watch the video on the ink screen. The second drawback is that a bright enough light is still needed for reading. Even the most modern "reader" can not boast of a background of pages of perfect whiteness. Of course, it is very light, but so far it is inferior in color to plain paper and in the case of insufficient illumination it seems a little gray. The third and last drawback is the vague prospects of color screens. While this type of reader is too expensive, changing pages takes a long time (up to 2-3 seconds), and the battery is consumed too quickly.

Prospects

However, the hopes for an affordable and high-quality device with color "electronic" ink still remain. It became known that now the company PocketBook is working on it, and the first "reader" of this type will appear on the territory of the CIS by the end of 2013. So, despite the competition from tablets and smartphones, the technology is developing. And the day is not far off when a quality e-book with color ink on an ideal snow-white background will be available.