
Ask HN: Coding on a color e-paper monitor - the_cat_kittles
Has anyone ever used a color e-paper display as the monitor to their computer? Can it be done currently? I think it would be nice to code with that kind of display.
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miles
It's not color, but the Kindle DX makes a great computer monitor for reading
or coding, especially in vim (since the mouse is next to useless):

<http://tinyapps.org/docs/e-ink-monitor.html>

Would love to hear about any other options, color or b&w.

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jcr
For quite some time I've been poking at the idea of building an e-ink/e-paper
display for "typical" computers (e.g. desktops) but there are a lot of
technical problems and compromises involved.

1.) The first problem is "refresh rate" and all of the existing e-ink/e-paper
components still suck when compared to other display technologies (LCD, CRT,
...). This means anything requiring a fast redraw (pointer movement, games,
video, ...) will look like crap on e-ink/e-paper.

2.) The second problem is color depth. The majority of "color" e-ink/e-paper
components can only do 4-bit (16 colors) to 8-bit (256 colors). Your average
modern LCD/CRT typically does 24-bit color (16 Million Colors) but some
specialized displays can handle even more (32-bit color -- 4.3 Billion
colors). At the moment, the very best color e-ink/e-paper displays/components
can do 12-bit color (4096 colors), and it is adequate for a lot of uses, but
it still makes high-color images a bit goofy.

3.) The third problem is physical size. The majority of e-ink/e-paper displays
are fairly small (according to my personal tastes) and are typically no bigger
than a 14 inch diagonal. Some people like small, somewhat portable displays,
but I hate them. The only 14" display I own is part of a dumb terminal. There
is only one 21 inch diagonal e-ink/e-paper display that I know of (out side of
prototypes in various company labs) but ordering one is painful.

4.) The fourth problem is resolution. As you probably know from all the
mindless squawking around the new iPad 3 "Retina" display, high resolution
displays/components are highly desirable. The new(ish)ly prevalent
television/video/image standards of 1080P (1920x1080) and 720P (1280x720) make
high resolution an important factor. The very best color e-ink/e-paper display
in production can barely do the latter (it does 1280x960 on 21").

The primary "selling point" of e-ink/e-paper is now (and has always been)
power consumption, and hence, battery life. If used as a typical computer
display (running on wall current), battery life is a non-issue.

The most interesting "selling point" of e-ink/e-paper is the advantages it
provides to people with vision impairments. The human eye evolved to see light
reflected from objects, not stare at the sun, and all display tech besides
e-ink/e-paper is equivalent to staring at the sun. People who have trouble
with various forms of eye strain or light sensitivity are always better off
with e-ink/e-paper. Even people with no vision impairments often prefer
e-ink/e-paper to LCD/CRT.

An example product using the mentioned 21 inch e-ink/e-paper display is here,
but buying one from Delta is a real pain in the ass (I tried last year):

[http://www.delta.com.tw/product/rd/epaper/product/product_de...](http://www.delta.com.tw/product/rd/epaper/product/product_device.asp)

<http://www.delta.com.tw/product/rd/epaper/index.asp>

The display component itself is called AeroBee and is built by Bridgestone
Corporation:

[http://www.delta.com.tw/press/press_detail.asp?sid=1&id=...](http://www.delta.com.tw/press/press_detail.asp?sid=1&id=565&skey=e-paper)

Also, Vivitek seems to have a product based on AeroBee:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiVB06ZPt_U>

EDIT: It seems I stand corrected; Delta plans to release a 40" e-paper display
in 2012.

<http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111102PD209.html>

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the_cat_kittles
Fantastic info, thank you

