FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

E-Paper in 2010

Vin Crosbie believes that within five years, e-paper will not only be able to display both text and images, but will contain the trappings of today's laptops -- complete with CPUs, batteries and wireless connectivity. Publishers would be able to transmit text, video, audio and interactive advertising, in a hybrid format that contains the best of today's newspaper, TV, web and RSS media.

Although I'm intrigued by the possibilities of e-paper, I wonder how consumers are going to want to interact with it. Personally, I find traditional newspapers clumsy. Would something in book form be more appealing? Could e-paper take on the characteristics of today's Tablet PCs, allowing users to interact through longhand writing? Imagine an editorial page with a real-time discussion forum going on as you're reading it! Or, would readers prefer a more immersive environment, obtaining their news and entertainment through 3D goggles than e-paper? Might e-paper find a more appropriate home in the corporate world, where reports could be edited by workgroups and the final draft presented without having to print more copies?

Source: unmediated