E Ink Develops New Color E-Paper But Not for E-Readers

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E Ink announced a new Advanced Color ePaper display, but don't expect to see it on an e-reader right away.

E Ink, which makes the technology behind Amazon's Kindle e-readers, has finally pushed beyond its black-and-white look with the new Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP) display. ACeP's 32,000 shades improves upon the old Triton color screens, which could only display 4,000 hues. 

MORE: A Guide to Amazon's E-Readers

In an effort to keep the power demands low, E Ink sacrificed some sharpness. The black-and-white Kindle displays we know and love pack in 300 pixels per inch, but the new ACeP screens will be just 150 ppi. They will also take up to two seconds to refresh the screen, which isn't exactly good for paging through an e-book. However, E Ink says the screens maintain "paper-like readability under all lighting conditions."

Would a full-color display on an e-reader make e-books more enjoyable or do you think it would be distracting. Sound off in the comments.

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Anna Attkisson
Anna Attkisson
Anna Attkisson is the editorial director at Tom's IT Pro. After getting infected with the tech bug at Wireless World and Cellular Business magazines as an intern in 1998, Anna Attkisson went on to dabble in a sorts of publications covering everything from children’s fashion to cars. During the last 9 years she’s returned to her roots where she’s been writing and editing for Laptop Mag and Tom’s Guide, before moving on to Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Anna Attkisson at @akattkisson.