Seiko High-Res Super-Thin EBook Reader [E-Ink]
Seiko High-Res Super-Thin EBook Reader — More E-Book News, this one a prototype from Seiko Epson, makers of the cool E-ink watch. The device's form factor is at least as thin as Sony's Reader, but it has a 1200x1600 display.
Context & Ripple Effects
Seiko Epson's prototype lands a month after Bridgestone showed an ultrathin full-color e-paper sheet, part of a late-2007 run of Japanese display makers demonstrating that e-ink panels no longer need rigid, thick backplanes. Seiko Epson brings credibility here: the company already shipped an E-ink watch, so a paper-thin reader is an extension of work in production, not a lab curiosity.
First-order effects
- The 1200x1600 panel tops the resolution of Sony's Reader while matching its thinness, putting direct pressure on Sony — which had just spent November reviving its hardware fortunes with the PS3 price cut — to answer on specs in the one device category where it currently leads.
Second-order effects
- If Seiko Epson moves the prototype toward manufacturing, e-reader makers gain a second high-resolution panel source beyond the incumbent suppliers, shifting bargaining power toward brands that can commit volume early.
Third-order effects
- A string of 2007 prototypes — Bridgestone's color sheet, Seiko Epson's high-res reader — points toward e-paper becoming a commodity display category defined by thickness and pixel density rather than by any single vendor's device, with readers themselves racing downmarket on price.
The trend: E-ink is moving from niche single-vendor devices toward a competitive display-component market where Japanese materials and electronics firms compete on thinness and resolution.