Colour e-Readers from 2011

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PCMag is reporting that, at a recent press conference, E Ink industry professionals were gearing up to roll out colour e-reader screens ‘in 2011’.

The press conference proved a prime occasion to outline a few key facts and figures about these decidedly 21st-century books. It was probably also intended to counteract some of the hype surrounding Apple's forthcoming iPad, which risks simply bulldozing the competition out of the market.

• 50 different models of e-book reader are currently available on the worldwide market.
• Approximately 5 million e-readers were sold in 2009.
• Analysts estimate that around 98 million e-book readers will be sold in 2018. Although the date might look a bit random, it can help us get an idea of market's size and potential for growth, considering that, for example, 140 million TV sets were sold in 2009.
• The battery life of e-readers that use e-ink is markedly better than devices that use LCD technology. An e-ink model can easily have a battery life of one month, compared with a maximum of ten hours for an LCD.
• Screens are set to go flexible.
• Mini e-ink screens are being developed with promises of record-breaking battery times. PCMag’s reporter was apparently shown a credit-card-format screen that’s been running non-stop for the last two years! This type of screen is already very much on its way, and we spotted one not too long ago on a Western Digital hard drive.

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