Move over Kindle, a plastic e-reader is coming

February 26, 11:56 AMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman

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Plastic logic's flat and flexible display

Imagine an eBook reader that is not just thin, but is also flexible and virtually indestructible. Plastic Logic’s e-reader, due out next year, accomplishes this using a display technology that is printed on flexible plastic instead of glass and silicon. And if it isn’t quite able to fold and roll up, the resulting device is resistant to hits that would kill a laptop or even a Kindle.

Traditional displays consist of millions of transistors that are etched onto silicon using photolithographic techniques. Plastic Logic displays use polymer (plastic) transistors that are sprayed and painted onto a sheet of plastic and an E Ink sheet (the same technology used in the Kindle).

The Plastic Logic e-reader is unlikely to overtake the Kindle’s popularity any time soon. Not only is it not yet available, but the Kindle is as much about availability of titles as it is technology. But the Plastic Logic technology is compelling, and it would not be surprising to see it appear elsewhere. Kindle III perhaps?