E Ink Launches Electronic Paper Prototype Kits

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- E Ink Corporation, the leading source of electronic paper display (EPD) technology, today announced that it will offer samples of electronic paper displays through the AM-100 EPD Prototype Kit, enabling prototyping across a wide range of display applications. The high-resolution display in this kit is bright, high- contrast, thin, lightweight, viewable from all angles and able to operate with dramatically less energy than liquid crystal displays (LCDs).

"If your job is to design a product with a battery and a display, then you need to understand what an electronic paper display can do for you," said Russ Wilcox, CEO at E Ink. "The best way to do that is to buy this kit and try it out for yourself."

This is the first high-resolution developer kit that contains a graphical electronic paper display. E Ink's EPD technology offers the bright, bold look of ink-on-paper and is ideal for mobile devices because it can be read in any lighting condition, including direct sunlight, and at any viewing angle -- just like paper. A resolution of 170 pixels per inch (PPI) and the capability of displaying four gray levels give this 6" diagonal display text quality with the clarity of newsprint. Once updated, the display image remains visible without energy, so the power draw of the display is reduced by up to 99% compared to traditional LCDs.

"This kit has the all essential tools for building innovative product prototypes using an electronic paper display," explained Ryosuke Kuwada, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at E Ink. "Product companies are discovering they can move to bigger screens, and at the same time, reduce the product weight because of the power savings."

In addition to the display module, the kit also includes a development board containing an Intel XScale processor and the Linux operating system, as well as I/O support for MMC cards, Bluetooth, and USB, and open source software drivers and applications.

"Controlling your new electronic paper screen from a desktop PC would be really limiting," explained Holly Gates, senior electrical engineer at E Ink. "Most of our customers want to make working prototypes that are portable. So we put the control electronics onto a tiny board you can slip right into your own casing and operate from batteries. Product engineers could easily build their own electronic reader with this kit."

High-resolution electronic paper displays are created using an E Ink(R) Imaging Film which is then laminated to a glass-based thin film transistor (TFT). The result is an EPD module that is sold to innovative product companies. E Ink has partnered with Prime View International (PVI) of Taiwan as the leading supplier of active matrix display modules. High volume purchases of displays will be sold directly by PVI.

Products using E Ink's high-resolution display technology were first launched in April 2004 by SONY Corporation in its LIBRIe electronic book device, available in Japan. In addition to SONY, Seiko, Citizen and Microsoft have used E Ink's EPD technology in innovative applications.

E Ink has active customers in the areas of electronic readers, watches, clocks and signs. Future uses for E Ink's technology include smartcards, medical devices, portable consumer electronics, and mobile phones.

For ordering and more information about the kit, please visit: http://www.eink.com/kits About E Ink

E Ink Corporation is the leading developer of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies. The company's display technology is currently sold in Japan as a component in the LIBRIe electronic book by SONY Corporation. Future technology developments will enable many new applications through ultra-thin, lightweight, rugged, flexible, full color displays. E Ink is a private corporation that includes among its investors Toppan Printing Company, Royal Philips Electronics, The Hearst Corporation, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Universal-Vivendi, Gannett Co., Inc., and Motorola, Inc. E Ink has also announced customer relationships with Citizen, Midori Mark, Neolux, Seiko, Toppan Printing Company, and Vossloh Information Technologies. E Ink news can be found at: http://www.eink.com/news E Ink Corporation / US

Jennifer Haight or Darren Bischoff

E Ink Corporation

http://www.eink.com/contactus/pr_lead_form.html