In bodily books, yellowing pages are normally an indication of age. However brand-new customers of Amazon’s Kindle Colorsofts, the tech large’s first coloration e-reader, are already noticing yellow hues showing on the bottoms of their shows.
Because the complaints started the trickle in, Amazon has reportedly suspended shipments and introduced that it’s working to repair the difficulty. (As of publication of this text, the US $280 Kindle had a mean 2.6 star score on Amazon.) It’s not but clear what’s inflicting the discoloration. However whereas the difficulty is new—and surprising—the expertise just isn’t, says Jason Heikenfeld, an IEEE Senior Member and engineering professor on the College of Cincinnati. The Kindle Colorsoft, which turned accessible on 30 October, makes use of “a really outdated strategy,” says Heikenfeld, who beforehand labored to develop the final word e-paper expertise. “It was the primary strategy everyone tried.”
Amazon’s e-reader makes use of reflective show expertise developed by E Ink, an organization that began within the Nineties as an MIT Media Lab spin off earlier than growing its now-dominant digital paper shows. E Ink is utilized in Kindles, in addition to prime e-readers from Kobo, reMarkable, Onyx, and extra. E Ink first launched Kaleido—the idea of the Colorsoft’s show—5 years in the past, although the highway to full-color e-paper began properly earlier than.
How E-Readers Work
Monochromatic Kindles work by making use of voltages to electrodes within the display that convey black or white pigment to the highest of every pixel. These pixels then replicate ambient gentle, making a paper-like show. To create a full-color show, corporations like E Ink added an array of filters simply above the ink. This strategy didn’t work properly at first as a result of the filters misplaced an excessive amount of gentle, making the shows darkish and low decision. However with just a few changes, Kaleido was prepared for shopper merchandise in 2019. (Different approaches—like including coloured pigments to the ink—have been developed, however these include their very own drawbacks, together with a better price ticket.)
Given this design, it initially appeared to Heikenfeld that the difficulty would have stemmed from the software program, which determines the voltages utilized to every electrode. This aligned with experiences from some customers that the difficulty appeared after a software program replace.
However business analyst Ming-Chi Kuo steered in a publish on X that the difficulty is as a result of e-reader’s {hardware}. Amazon switched the optically clear adhesive (OCA) used within the Colorsoft to a fabric that will not be so optically clear. In its announcement of the Colorsoft, the corporate boasted “customized formulated coatings” that will improve the colour show as one of many new e-reader’s improvements.
When it comes to resolving the difficulty, Kuo’s publish additionally said that “Whereas element suppliers have developed a number of {hardware} options, Amazon appears to be leaning towards a software-based repair.” Heikenfeld just isn’t certain how a software program repair would work, other than blacking out the underside of the display.
Amazon didn’t reply to IEEE Spectrum’s request for remark. In an e mail to IEEE Spectrum, E Ink said, “Whereas we can not touch upon any particular person accomplice or product, we’re dedicated to supporting our companions in understanding and addressing any points that come up.”
The Way forward for E-Readers
It took a very long time for coloration Kindles to reach, and the way forward for reflective e-reader shows isn’t doubtless to enhance a lot, in accordance with Heikenfeld. “I used to work loads on this discipline, and it simply actually slowed down sooner or later, as a result of it’s a tricky nut to crack,” Heikenfeld says.
There are inherent limitations and inefficiencies to working with filter-based coloration shows that depend on ambient gentle, and there’s no Moore’s Legislation for these shows. As an alternative, their enchancment is asymptotic—and we might already be near the restrict. In the meantime, shows that emit gentle, like LCD and OLED, proceed to enhance. “An iPad does a fairly rattling good job with battery life now,” says Heikenfeld.
On the similar time, he believes there’ll all the time be a spot for reflective shows, which stay a extra pure expertise for our eyes. “We dwell in a world of reflective coloration,” Heikenfeld says.
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