Last week I posted about the new YotaPhone and how they are utilizing our new flexible, dynamic, active matrix display to offer a futuristic take on the smartphone; a dual screened phone with EPD on one side, and LCD on the other.

For E Ink, flexible, high resolution, active matrix displays are a new offering; however, product designers have been imagining the possibilities utilizing a flexible TFT for years. There have been several companies looking to launch products using these displays, but the Wexler FlexONE was the first eReader on the market using such technology.

However, E Ink’s segmented displays have always been flexible. At less than ½ millimeter thick, E Ink segmented displays are low power and non-glass, making them virtually indestructible. As these are low resolution displays, we are able to print the backplane directly onto plastic film, which is then laminated to the ink layer, and the result is a thin, flexible display cell that can be easily integrated into a product.

E Ink’s segmented displays have been integrated into a number of different types of applications, including USB drives, cell phones, wireless devices and watches. These segmented displays were the first of E Ink’s products to be commercialized, and we’ve already shipped millions of them into the market in a variety of products. These displays offer product designers the ability to leverage the low power, slim profile of the display cell to add a display capability to a device where battery life or available space prevented the integration of a display previously.

This month we are introducing a new prototyping quick start kit which allows product designers the ability to easily create preliminary prototypes to assess the suitability of an E Ink segmented display for their product concept.

Our Quick Start Kit offers easy to use hardware and software, and comes with 2 different displays. In addition, we have released 3 additional standard displays that can be purchased and integrated with the kit for further assessment.

The Quick Start Kit is available through Digikey and further information on its features and a QSK FAQ can be found on our website.

Happy designing!