E INK and Sony announced that they have developed two new digital note-taking devices. The 10.3 ”and 13.3 displays will use an E Ink Carta 1250 mark, which is reserved only for these products. This screen technology will result in a higher contrast ratio and faster page turns, improvements in pen writing speed, and an improved user interface for the app offerings. Sony has worked closely with E Ink over the past three years to integrate the latest Carta ink and fine-tune visual performance into the solution to bring all the benefits of the new film to the device.
With an ultra-thin paper feel and ergonomic design, the 10.3 inch model weighs just 261 grams and is 5.85mm thick; the 13.3-inch model weighs 368 grams and is only 5.7mm thick. Both products feature a Wacom EMR-supported digital pen and faster writing, with update times of less than 30 milliseconds. Pen writing has a smooth feel, with non-slip, non-glazed surface, giving a real writing experience on paper. Wacom’s EMR will support other Wacom compatible pens, such as the Shinonome Pen, for precise drawing and fine line renderings. Each eNote solution has incredible battery life, with up to three weeks of use on a single charge, and offers reading and viewing of notes in a 2 page view. The devices will come with 32 GB of internal memory, for the storage of over 10,000 PDF files. Each device has advanced security features allowing secure encryption of user data.
The new Digital Paper devices will be released in summer 2021, and E Ink and their partnership with Sony, Linfiny, are actively seeking OEM partners who want to develop their own Digital Paper devices on this platform. DCSS (Digital Paper Control Server Software) software will provide high security solutions for system vendors to develop their own paperless solution for corporate, industrial, medical, education or public office markets . In addition, eNote solutions are built on Android OS, which allows the development of custom software solutions. The Linfiny team is developing middleware that provides a more flexible and open software development environment, allowing customers to streamline their software development efforts as well as use existing Android applications. The first version of the APK middleware will be released in the fall of 2021.
Good e-Reader will be on the stage in Japan to see the prototypes in the coming days and hopes to bring a video and review of these new e-notes. It is important to note that E INK and Sony will not release these products to the public, but will rely on third parties to develop their own technology. I’m really excited about Carta 1250, which is the first time this screen technology has been refined since E INK Carta HD was released in 2014.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and The New York Times.