Seiko's Man-Hands Electronic Paper Display

As if on cue after Amazon tested the limits of just how inelegant an electronic paper display could be, Seiko Epson has delivered their prototype e-paper display terminal. It's so thin and elegant it gives the booth babe model holding it in the pictures the dreaded "man-hands" look.

The terminal measures 180 x 120mm, which is about the size of a notebook (B6 size). Featuring a design with portability in mind, it is only 3mm thick and only weighs 57g. It is equipped with an USB port for USB-based data exchange. The commercialization schedule of the product has yet to be decided, the company said.

The display unit is equipped with a 6.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1200 x 1600. The screen features a definition of about 300ppi, contrast ration of 8:1 and reflectivity of 43%.

Each pixel can display black and white and represents gray-scale by area coverage modulation. The product was developed by combining the electrophoretic ink developed by E Ink Corp with Seiko Epson's proprietary low-temperature poly-Si TFT formed on a glass substrate.

Of course it's just a display. It doesn't do anything other than show you about 1400 page redraws, delivered through its one USB port, on the electricity in one watch battery. So in its own way, it's a product in search of a market that doesn't exist yet, the same as Amazon's Kindle Reader. But "man-hands form factor"  beats  "monkey's armpit clunkiness" every time. It's sleek and useful. Someone will figure out what to do with it.