The World’s first color E-Ink monitor looks wild – but we have questions
Full color, excellent resolution, and low power consumption, FTW
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More than a decade after the first color, electronic paper displays popped up at CES 2010, the technology’s chief innovator E Ink has built a color panel capable of powering ereaders, smartphones, retail signage displays, and, now, even monitors.
This week, Chinese electronics manufacturer Dasung unveiled what it’s callingThe World’s First E Ink Monitorwhich features a 25.3-inchKaleido 3 color E Ink display. Based on details in the company’s Indiegogo funding campaign, the 25.3-inch display supports 4,096 colors and a resolution of up to 3,200 x 1,800. That sounds good but it should be noted that the number is likely based on Kaleido 3’s 300ppi rating. Essentially it’s the same resolution you’ll find on yourbest Amazon Kindle reader. On the other hand, that ppi beatsApple’s Studio Display, which has a resolution of 5,120 x 2,880 and 218 pixels per inch.
Dasung promises turbo refresh rates along with the company’s “Dasung X- color Filter” technology that should improve contrast, vibrancy, text darkness, and other on-screen effects. It’s not clear if all of this enhances or replaces E Ink’s own Kaleido 3 display enhancement technologies.
The look of color E Ink
In the promotional video, it’s clear the slightly curved display is quite thin and lets you switch from landscape to portrait mode orientation. However, the display also looks, well, a bit dull. Like most E Ink displays, its reflective technology is well-equipped for use in well-lit environments (there’s also a front light to decrease blue-light impact) but since there’s no backlight to shine through the colors, the display imagery looks flat and almost a little grayed out.
Despite Dasung’s promises of “unbelievable refresh speed on Color E Ink” the video makes it appear as if the display’s refresh rate might fall somewhere below 60Hz. Some of thebest cheap monitors, meanwhile, promise 120Hz refresh rates or higher, and most reports have E Ink’s Kaleido 3 at a 350ms response time (so thebest gaming monitor, this is certainly not). That means you should not expect the same kind of visual response you’ll find on any ofthe best monitorson the market.
What you will get is a cool-operating, easy-on-the-eyes, ultra-low-powered display that, we guess, could be the talk of your office, home office, or student set-up. As for how much such a display will cost you, we don’t know. Dasung’s campaign does not feature a price or any details about when the color E Ink display will ship to consumers, aside from the tantalizing, “coming soon.”.
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A 38-year industry veteran andaward-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.
Lance Ulanoffmakes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, theToday Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.
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