E Ink Debut Triton Color E-Paper

E Ink has officially announced their color e-paper display, E Ink Triton, as used in the Hanvon color ereader shown yesterday. Hardware details for the Triton display are sparse, but it's known to support 16 levels of greyscale along with "thousands" of colors via a filter layer on top.

Triton is also tipped to be 20-percent faster than previous E Ink screens – though it still doesn't support a sufficiently fast refresh rate to show smooth video – and can handle simple animations. As with existing monochrome e-paper displays, Triton is readable even in direct sunlight, and bistable so that it can maintain an on-screen image without any power being applied.

According to Hanvon, their color ereader should arrive in March 2011, so we're guessing that's when mass production of Triton will be ready. No word on how pricing compares to the monochrome versions.

[via PC Watch]

Press Release:

E Ink Announces Color ePaper

E Ink color ePaper displays enabled by Triton Imaging Film will deliver high-contrast, sunlight readable, low-power performance that will revolutionize the market.

FPD International 2010

MAKUHARI MESSE, Japan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–E Ink® Holdings Inc., the leader in electronic paper display technology, today announced the release of its next generation display technology, E Ink Triton. Triton enables color ePaper solutions, enhancing the visual experience for ePublishing markets.

"E Ink Triton marks a major milestone in the eBook revolution," said Hanvon's Chairmain Dr. Liu Yingjian. "E Ink has the right technology, manufacturing capability, and know-how to transition Hanvon's product vision into reality. With E Ink Triton technology, Hanvon is enabled to release the world's first color eBook reader today."

"E Ink Triton is a response to market need for a color ePaper display that mimics the printed paper experience," said Scott Liu, Chairman of E Ink Holdings. "Triton will compliment our monochrome product line to enable new markets."

"Color ePaper will enable richer content in eBooks, as well as enabling a broader array of other reading devices, for content such as magazines, newspapers, and educational materials," according to Paul Semenza, Senior Vice President, DisplaySearch. "We foresee market demand for ePaper displays in these applications reaching $5 billion by 2016."

Enhanced with Color

For image-rich information applications showing charts, graphs, maps, photos, comics and advertising, color displays made with Triton Imaging Film enable ultra-low power and high mobility devices with a paper-like experience. In addition to 16 levels of grayscale, Triton is capable of displaying thousands of colors. And just like E Ink's grayscale ePaper products, Triton's crisp text and detailed color graphics are fully viewable in direct sunlight.

Faster Performance

Displays made with Triton, as well as the recently launched Pearl, can perform up to 20 percent faster than those made with previous generations of E Ink Imaging Film. Whether turning a page, selecting a menu, taking notes, or viewing simple animations, Triton's update performance will satisfy today's user-interface product needs. This expands the ePaper experience and displays more dynamic content for signage or advertising.

Proven Technology

The E Ink Triton design leverages the patented two pigment capsule platform found in millions of E Ink enabled eBooks. This technology offers unparalleled image stability; pictures and text can be maintained on the screen even when the power is turned off. With this proven bi-stable technology, devices using E Ink Imaging Film have demonstrated both long life and high reliability, leading to the development of a whole new class of consumer products over the past few years.