 The industry’s first 14.1-inch color electronic paper equivalent in size to an A4 paper sheet developed by LG.Philips LCD in May. Expectations are high that “flexible displays” will be the next-generation growth engine for display makers. / Courtesy of LG.Philips LCD |
Staff Reporter
People still buy newspapers on their way to work and read them on the subway or bus. But with the unstoppable march of technology, such a tradition may soon make way for a different form of media.
In this age of pervasive digital contents, expectations are high that “flexible displays” will be a nextgeneration growth engine for display makers as the device could store hundreds of books or newspapers via a USB drive, or personal computer, and even run for 7,000 hours before needing a recharge.
Market analysts say the displays will eventually replace paper.
One of the striking advantages of the flexible displays is that it will make it possible to produce electronic reader products that are as comfortable and natural to read as paper regardless of place.
Wireless connectivity will also allow readers to buy a book or pick up the latest edition of the dailies without worrying about a battery recharge.
Market researcher DisplayBank has predicted the “flexible display” market will grow to over $12 billion by 2017 from less than $100 million in 2008.
Plastic electronics as it has been called is the fabrication of devices such as thin-film transistors (TFT) using semi-conducting polymer materials. These materials could be deposited from a solution enabling the devices to be printed.
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As polymer materials are also fundamentally flexible, the displays could revolutionize the way that people interact with their media on the move.
Two local display giants, Samsung Electronics and LG.Philips LCD (LPL), have been engaging in a fierce competition to take a bigger stake in this promising industry, though LPL appears to have got one step further ahead for the commercialization of the displays.
“We are in the middle of discussions with U.S. magazine group Hearst to supply next-generation displays,” an official from the joint venture with Dutch company Philips told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.
“If the talks end successfully, the publisher of Cosmopolitan will start using the displays in 2008,” the official added. In May, LPL developed the industry’s first A4 size color electronic paper.
The joint venture said the color e-Paper supports 4,096 colors by adopting electric ink and enables clearer viewing of curved screens from any angle. This product uses metal foil based on circuit boards with TFT rather than glass and therefore, can be returned to its original shape even after it is folded, according to the company. LPL has applied for more than 130 patents related to “flexible displays” so far this year.
“The news is somewhat surprising. When color hits the devices, that will really make it attractive to advertisers and photographers,” said Kim Myeong-suk, an industrial design professor of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
``The new is expected to become a big accelerator for magazines to turn to e-paper,'' he said, adding that consumers are reluctant to read stories on laptops or even phones.
In August, Samsung Electronics increased by two and a half-fold the resolution of its 14.3-inch black-and-white flexible displays, which it developed in 2006.
Samsung said it can produce the new e-paper using existing liquid crystal display (LCD) panel lines without investing more in new facilities.
As digitalized content has become more available, the era of e-books and e-papers depicted in Steven Spielberg's film ``Minority Report'' is much closer to reality than a few years ago. However, more technological developments will be needed to for it to take root in the fast-growing display market.
``Guaranteeing price competitiveness, securing production lines and offering similar levels of technology competing with AM OLED and LCD displays are considered pre-requisites to expanding the e-paper market,'' said Hong Moon-pyo, a university professor. He forecast that the market would open widely from 2010.
yckim@koreatimes.co.kr
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