In bodily books, yellowing pages are often an indication of age. However brand-new customers of Amazon’s Kindle Colorsofts, the tech big’s first coloration e-reader, are already noticing yellow hues showing on the bottoms of their shows.
For the reason that complaints started the trickle in, Amazon has reportedly suspended shipments and introduced that it’s working to repair the problem. (As of publication of this text, the US $280 Kindle had a median 2.6 star ranking on Amazon.) It’s not but clear what’s inflicting the discoloration. However whereas the problem is new—and sudden—the know-how will not be, says Jason Heikenfeld, an IEEE Senior Member and engineering professor on the College of Cincinnati. The Kindle Colorsoft, which grew to become obtainable on 30 October, makes use of “a really outdated strategy,” says Heikenfeld, who beforehand labored to develop the ultimate e-paper technology. “It was the primary strategy all people tried.”
Amazon’s e-reader makes use of reflective show know-how developed by E Ink, an organization that began within the Nineties as an MIT Media Lab spin off earlier than creating its now-dominant digital paper shows. E Ink is utilized in Kindles, in addition to high 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 street to full-color e-paper started well before.
How E-Readers Work
Monochromatic Kindles work by making use of voltages to electrodes within the display screen that deliver black or white pigment to the highest of every pixel. These pixels then mirror 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 nicely 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 client merchandise in 2019. (Different approaches—like including coloured pigments to the ink—have been developed, however these include their very own drawbacks, together with the next price ticket.)
Given this design, it initially appeared to Heikenfeld that the problem would have stemmed from the software program, which determines the voltages utilized to every electrode. This aligned with reviews from some customers that the problem appeared after a software program replace.
However trade analyst Ming-Chi Kuo advised in a post on X that the problem is because of the e-reader’s {hardware}. Amazon switched the optically clear adhesive (OCA) used within the Colorsoft to a fabric that might 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 problem, Kuo’s put up additionally acknowledged that “Whereas part suppliers have developed a number of {hardware} options, Amazon appears to be leaning towards a software-based repair.” Heikenfeld will not be positive how a software program repair would work, aside from blacking out the underside of the display screen.
Amazon didn’t reply to IEEE Spectrum’s request for remark. In an e-mail to IEEE Spectrum, E Ink acknowledged, “Whereas we can not touch upon any particular person associate 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 probably to enhance a lot, in keeping with Heikenfeld. “I used to work lots on this area, 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 Law for these shows. As a substitute, 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 identical time, he believes there’ll at all times 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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