Since eInk Corporation released their first generation screen display called Vizplex more than 3 years ago, the company has set the standard in eReader screen technology. For that period thought, the company’s screen displays could only support shades of gray. Until now. eInk has just introduced a screen display called Triton. The new ePaper display is based on the same technology as the Vizplex. Yet in what is apparently a significant departure from its black and white past, the Triton color ePaper can display images and texts in color.
Triton vs Vizplex: Explaining the Main Differences in Screen Technology
eInk Vizplex displays contain millions of hair-thin microcapsules filled with black (negatively charged) and white (positively charged) particles. These particles are suspended in a clear fluid. When an electronic charge is applied (such as when changing a page), the black and white particles are re-arranged to form images/texts.
Triton color ePaper displays are based on the same technology used by monochromatic Vizplex displays. However, the Triton has a thin RGB color filter been added over the black and white display. The filter contains blue, green, red, and white sub-pixels; when a charge is applied, the sub-pixels re-arrange themselves to form a color image.
What this means is that the Vizplex and Triton offer nearly the same set of advantages. Let’s take a walk through their similarities and differences.
1. Long battery life/ low power consumption. Both Vizplex and Triton displays are bistable (this means they use power only to change an image) and have energy-consuming backlight. However, Vizplex displays can only last 2 weeks, while Triton displays can last up to a month.
2. Crisp text. Both support 16 shades of gray.
3. Reflective display. The displays require ambient or external light to be able display images. Unlike LCD displays, they have no internal source of light; they reflect light rather than produce it.
However, while this is fine with monochromatic displays, it’s a different story with color images. Lack of internal light gives Triton’s color images a desaturated, faded quality.
4. Readable outdoors. The quality of texts/images displayed on either Vizplex or Triton display is not affected by bright light. You can take your device to the beach or the park in broad daylight and not worry about washout or screen glare.
5. Near 180 degree viewing. You can view images from nearly every angle.
6. No video support. The Vizplex’s and Triton’s current refresh rate is not high enough for them to be able to support video.
What the Triton Color ePaper Can Do that Vizplex Can’t
The main difference of the Triton ePaper from its predecessors, of course, is that it can display images and texts in color. More specifically, it can display up to 4096 different colors – not too impressive if you consider the million different colors of LCD displays. Still, this is a big step forward for eInk. Hopefully they can come up with a technology that would allow the display to produce vivid, rich colors.
Another difference is that the Triton display is also said to be 20% faster than its predecessors, so you get better page turning, note taking, or animation viewing experience with Triton.
Closing thought
To sum it up, the eInk Vizplex and Triton screen displays share four features that are important to serious reading: lack of support for videos, long battery life, lack of glare, and readability under sunlight. eInk, it seems, is really focused on bringing screen displays that are ideal for long hours of reading.
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