Words by MPDClick’s Future Trends Researcher.
This week’s ‘Design Focus of the Week’ is inspired by the European launch of the new flexible LG e-reader. Less than half the weight of a kindle and forty degree bend-ability, the electronic paper display (EPD) is the first of its kind.
Believed to help popularize the e-book market, LG’s innovative e-reader reaches out to new levels of convenience for the average commuter. With stiff competition from the recent launch of Apple’s iPad3, LG have been faced with the challenge of offering consumers a similarly innovative and user-friendly product. Featuring a compact six inch screen and product that is one third thinner (0.7 mm) than its glass screened predecessor the reader works with electronic ink and 100% plastic.
By adapting the traditional book format into a more practical and lifelike 14 gram paper design, users will no longer have to worry that their reading material is too heavy or bulky to carry. More importantly, the possibilities for EPD’s go beyond e-readers and can be used for advertising and in-store display purposes.
It is more than likely that you will be reading this post on some sort of portable device whether it be a laptop, smart phone or tablet, but the near future could see the advent of electronic pages uploaded straight from a virtual library – rolling your entire book shelf and magazine library into your own bag. While the e-reader is currently being launched in black and white screen features (an ideal solution to the daily newspaper reader), LG have begun the production of new colour flexi screens, which could ignite an emerging trend for creative development in coloured e-reader technology.
Image Source: E-book reader.com
