In bodily books, yellowing pages are normally an indication of age. However brand-new customers of Amazon’s Kindle Colorsofts, the tech big’s first colour 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 problem. (As of publication of this text, the US $280 Kindle had a median 2.6 star score on Amazon.) It’s not but clear what’s inflicting the discoloration. However whereas the problem is new—and surprising—the know-how just isn’t, says Jason Heikenfeld, an IEEE Fellow 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 The Kindle Colorsoft, which turned accessible on 30 October, makes use of “a really outdated strategy,” says Heikenfeld, who beforehand labored to develop the last word e-paper know-how. “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 Nineteen 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 prime e-readers from Kobo, reMarkable, Onyx, and extra. E Ink first launched Kaleido—the premise of the Colorsoft’s show—5 years in the past, although the street 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 mirror ambient gentle, making a paper-like show. To create a full-color show, firms 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 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 a better 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 business analyst Ming-Chi Kuo urged in a put up on X that the problem is as a result of e-reader’s {hardware}. Amazon switched the optically clear adhesive (OCA) used within the Colorsoft to a cloth that will not be so optically clear. In its announcement of the Colorsoft, the corporate boasted “customized formulated coatings” that may 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 element suppliers have developed a number of {hardware} options, Amazon appears to be leaning towards a software-based repair.” Heikenfeld just isn’t positive how a software program repair would work, aside from blacking out the underside of the display.
Amazon didn’t reply to IEEE Spectrum’s request for remark. In an electronic mail to IEEE Spectrum, E Ink acknowledged, “Whereas we can’t 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 colour Kindles to reach, and the way forward for reflective e-reader shows isn’t seemingly to enhance a lot, in keeping with Heikenfeld. “I used to work rather a lot on this area, and it simply actually slowed down in some unspecified time in the future, as a result of it’s a tricky nut to crack,” Heikenfeld says.
There are inherent limitations and inefficiencies to working with filter-based colour shows that depend on ambient gentle, and there’s no Moore’s Regulation 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 reasonably 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 colour,” Heikenfeld says.
That is story was up to date on 12 November 2024 to appropriate that Jason Heikenfeld is an IEEE Fellow.
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