Arguably, E-ink may not be on the edge, since it is used commonly in e-readers. The question that is left, though, is why it isn't implemented in a larger range of devices.  New devices have started to come out in the past year or two such as ReMarkable, an e-ink note-taking and reading tablet. Also fairly recently, a monitor called PaperLike was also put through Indiegogo. Both of these look like amazing products, but have prices of over $700 dollars for screen sizes of 10.3" and 13.3" respectively. E-readers with a six inch screen such as the Kindle start at only $80. Most screens used for desktops are at least 18" if not well over 20" which is problematic.

The Reason for E-Ink

Personally, e-ink is a technology that should be much larger market. E-ink provides an amazing reading experience that is much easier on the eyes than standard monitors, and have a lower power usage. E-ink lends itself really nicely to reading and I could see good use cases for writing, reading, referencing documentation, etc. My first experience with e-ink was with an original Pebble smartwatch. The screen was small, but was a good proof of why e-ink has definite advantages. Less than a year later, I bought a Kindle Paperwhite. My Kindle is a purchase that I will never regret due to the wonderful reading experience that e-ink brings.

Current models of e-readers have wonderful battery life in part due to their e-ink displays that only use energy to refresh the screen and for backlighting. For example, the Kindle is advertised to have a battery life of multiple weeks, which is consistent with my experiences. In addition, the PaperLike is supposed to use a single USB for both power and data. This is definitely helpful for those that want to run multiple displays, especially if they run out of display ports, or are concerned about energy usage.

However, e-ink would not work well in it's current state as a complete replacement for LCD and LED monitors. The color reproduction, ghosting, and refresh rates are all not quite where they would need to be for that to be a viable full replacement. However, for people that spend quite a bit of time at a computer reading articles, writing, or anything that does not require any of these features, e-ink is a wonderful fit already.

Going Forward

E-ink's current state is due to many people not having much experience reading on it and a general low interest. Due to this very few products other than e-readers have been created using e-ink displays. E-ink will be able to rapidly grow and likely will have a large set of changes to its capabilities, hopefully overcoming its current issues, once it is used in more products like full monitors or tablets and more widely adopted.

The question will be how to get this initial surge to help create a larger market. PaperLike had a successful Indiegogo campaign, but does not seem to be selling them in general yet. ReMarkable is still in it's pre-order phase, but has some good reviews. These could help open the market, but most people, including myself, cannot spend the requisite amount of money to buy into the current market for these products. This brings the puzzle of how to lower the price to a better threshold. I truly believe that once the price drops, e-ink will rapidly grow and will improve in quality even more.

What are your thoughts or experiences with e-ink? Is it something that you think should be more widely used?