A lot of readers were interested in the Sony e-Ink Notepad prototype we reported on a week ago. While its intended for educational markets, for now, may people thought it would be great to have an A4 sized e-ink device with the additional benefit of stylus input/annotation for their own personal uses.
This new device is as yet unnamed and Sony has suggested it will be sold in bulk to universities to become a practical in-lecture note taking device and to receive digital lecture hand-outs. Late last week, Sony reps attended an educational IT show in Japan to demonstrate the new e-ink device to the crowds. Diginfo.tv was there and made an informative video so you can see the 13.3 inch tablet/reader in action. I’ve embedded it below.
As a reminder here is a specifications list detailing the current Sony prototype:
- 13.3-inch touch capable screen e-ink display with 1,200 x 1,600 pixels and 16 shades of grey
- Electromagnetic stylus sensing tech complements the touchscreen
- File support: Complies with specification PDF (. Pdf), the PDF 1.7
- Storage: 4GB internal memory plus microSD card slot
- Wi-Fi connectivity - IEEE 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz) compliant
- Battery: Built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery with up to 3 weeks usage (Wi-Fi off)
- Dimensions are 233mm x 310mm x 7mm (numbers rounded up, actually just 6.8mm thick)
- Weight is 358g
The screen uses a new display called e-ink Mobius which is a technology developed jointly between E-ink Corporation and Sony. Kenji Matsunaga, Marketing Manager, Sony Business Solutions said “We've succeeded in mass-producing these large flexible panels, by combining E-Ink's flexible paper technology and Sony's mass-production technology.” He went on to explain “Usually, devices are made by sandwiching TFTs between glass sheets. But these panels use plastic instead of glass, so they're much lighter. Another feature is that, unlike glass, these panels are very durable.”
In the video you can see various Sony employees and exhibition attendees try out and demonstrate the device. The way people operate and use this e-ink device makes it look very light and comfortable to hold. Having no glass makes it lighter but also people don’t look afraid to handle it or fear that it may be fragile. The screen can ignore your hand resting upon it when you are writing with the stylus, so it’s very natural to use for note-taking, just like a piece of paper.
Matsunaga said he would like to see this device in universities. Trials in these educational establishments will be held this year and a commercial version of the device is planned for release during this year according to the Sony business marketing boss.
