E-ink is the technology behind e-book readers such as the Opus. Some call it e-paper, but it’s essentially the same thing: a (relatively) revolutionary approach at computer-controlled displays. E-ink screens differ greatly from CRT or LCD screens, in several ways:
- They are not backlit, therefore you need ambient light to see what’s on them
- They do not require power to keep the image up
- Their refresh rate is abysmal
- They do not yet come in color, and they’re quite lame at showing gray too
So, you may wonder, why even consider buying something like this? That’s very simple: the things I mentioned above are the points of strength of these devices, not their weaknesses: it’s all about what you use these screens for. I am going to briefly go through those perveiced problems.