E-Paper Displays, Applications and the E-Book Reader Market

Table of Contents:
1 Executive Summary 11
1.1. Technology Summary 11
1.1.1. Overview of Applications 11
1.1.2. Summary of e-paper Technology Specifications 11
1.1.3. Summary of Industry Roadmaps 16
1.1.4. E-Book Reader Spec Summary 19
1.2. EBR Forecast Summary 21
1.2.1. EBR Unit Forecast 21
1.2.2. Unit Breakdown by Screen Size 23
1.2.3. Monochrome - Color Mix 24
1.2.4. EBR Revenue Forecast 26
2 Market Needs and Competitive Technologies 27
2.1. Requirements for Applications 27
2.1.1. User Interactions 27
2.2. Flexible Trend 29
2.3. Incumbent Technologies and Their Limitations 29
2.4. Alternative Direct View E-Paper Displays 31
3 Relevant Technologies and Market Players 34
3.1. Moving Particles in a Fluid 34
3.1.1. E Ink 34
3.1.2. Prime View International 42
3.1.3. SiPix Imaging 44
3.1.4. CLEAR Display 50
3.1.5. Soken Chemical & Engineering Co. 52
3.2. Moving Particles in Air 55
3.2.1. Bridgestone 55
3.2.2. Annulex 62
3.3. Twisted Nematic LCDs 64
3.4. BiStable Nematic LCDs 65
3.4.1. Nemoptic 65
3.4.2. ZBD Displays, Limited 72
3.5. Cholesteric LCDs 78
3.5.1. Kent Displays 78
3.5.2. ITRI 84
3.5.3. Fuji Xerox Co. 86
3.6. Electrochemical - Electrochromic 88
3.6.1. Aveso 88
3.6.2. Siemens/PolyIC 92
3.6.3. NTERA 94
3.6.4. ECD- Samsung 97
3.6.5. Konica Minolta 98
3.7. Flexible Backplane TFTs with Particle Display Frontplanes 99
3.7.1. Polymer Vision 99
3.7.2. Plastic Logic 103
3.7.3. LG Display 107
3.7.4. Seiko Epson 110
3.8. Electrowetting 112
3.8.1. PVI/ITRI 112
3.8.2. Liquavista 112
3.8.3. ADT GmbH 119
3.9. MEMS 123
3.9.1. Qualcomm MEMS Technologies 123
3.10. Photonic Crystals 130
3.10.1. Opalux 130
3.11. Piezoelectric Interference 135
3.11.1. Fuji Photo Film 135
4 E-Book Reader Cost and Price Evaluation 136
4.1. EBR Cost and Price Development 136
4.2. Market Pricing 136
4.3. Expected Price Development 137
4.4. Cost Model 138
4.5. Overall Price Evaluation 140
5 Market Segment Forecasts 142
5.1. Methodology, Assumptions and Sources 142
5.1.1. Methodology 142
5.1.2. Sources 143
5.1.3. Assumptions and General Factors 143
5.2. Total Available Market and Penetration Models 145
5.2.1. Adjusted TAM (Total Available Market) 146
5.2.2. Market Penetration Models 148
5.3. EBR Market 151
5.3.1. Business and Competitive Analysis 151
5.4. Forecast by Application, Size and Display Technology 152
5.4.1. General Purpose e-Books 152
5.4.2. e-Magazines and e-Newspapers 158
5.4.3. e-Textbooks 165
5.4.4. e-Professional References 169
5.4.5. e-Dictionaries, Phrase Books/Language Learning 173
5.4.6. e-Comic Books 176
6 Appendix I: Electronic Book Reader Products 182
6.1. Amazon Kindle 182
6.2. Astak 183
6.3. Bookeen Cybook Gen 3 185
6.4. BeBook 187
6.5. Brother 188
6.6. E-Book Technologies, Inc (ETI) and Ebookwise 189
6.6.1. Overview 189
6.6.2. EBR Products 191
6.7. Ectaco jetBook Reader 196
6.8. eRead Technology STAR eBOOK 197
6.9. Foxit Software's eSlick EBR 197
6.10. Fujitsu Flepia 199
6.11. iRex Technologies Iliad 199
6.11.1. Overview 199
6.11.2. Iliad 201
6.11.3. iRex 1000 203
6.12. Jinke Hanlin V9 204
6.13. Kolibri 204
6.14. Neolux Model NUUT 205
6.15. Panasonic Sigma 206
6.16. Plastic Logic 207
6.17. Sony Reader 208
6.18. Toshiba DCT-100 209
7 Appendix II: List of Acronyms 210
Table of Figures:
Figure 1: Total Adjusted TAM for EBRs 21
Figure 2: Lower Market Forecast by Market Segment 22
Figure 3: Upper Market Forecast by Market Segment 22
Figure 4: Anticipated EBR Screen Size Distribution 24
Figure 5: Monochrome / Color Screen Percentage Mix 25
Figure 6: EBR Monochrome / Color Unit Forecast 25
Figure 7: EBR USD Sales Forecast 26
Figure 8: Sony PRS-505 E-book Reader Using E-Ink 38
Figure 9: Roll-out Text Display (Polymer Vision) 39
Figure 10: E Ink Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 41
Figure 11: 9.7-inch Electrophorectic Prototype from PVI 43
Figure 12: Cross Section of the Sipix Display 45
Figure 13: SiPix Microcups 46
Figure 14: Roll-to-roll Processing 46
Figure 15: SiPix Embosser Mold and Microcups 47
Figure 16: SiPix Point of Purchase Display 47
Figure 17: SiPix Prototypes at SID'08 48
Figure 18: SiPix Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 49
Figure 19: Cross Section of the CLEAR Display 51
Figure 20: Example of CLEAR Display 51
Figure 21: Soken Chemical ball display demonstrator, left, and an example of a 30- x 30-cm prototype display driven by organic TFTs, right 53
Figure 22: Break-up of hemispherical colored droplet in a co-flowing stream of water 53
Figure 23: Bridgestone Display in Cross Section Showing Operating Principle 57
Figure 24: Rib Structure for Containing Particles in Bridgestone Display 57
Figure 25: Fabrication of Bridgestone Display 58
Figure 26: Bridgestone Monochrome Displays 58
Figure 27: Bridgestone Image with 4 Levels of Gray 59
Figure 28: Bridgestone Full Color Display 59
Figure 29: Bridgestone Display 60
Figure 30: Bridgestone Roadmap 61
Figure 31: Bridgestone Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 62
Figure 32: Summary of BiNem Company Highlights 65
Figure 33: How BiNem Works 66
Figure 34: Steep Falling Edge: Twisted State 67
Figure 35: Smooth Falling Edge: Uniform State 67
Figure 36: BiNem Grayscales 68
Figure 37: BiNem Combined Grayscales and Color 69
Figure 38: Nemoptic Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 72
Figure 39: Cross Section of a Zenithal Bistable LCD 74
Figure 40: Phase Shifting the Gratings Anchors Defects at the Top and Bottom of the Grooves as in (b) Below 74
Figure 41: (a) High Tilt -Black State 75
Figure 42: (b) Low Tilt White State ('Defect' State) 75
Figure 43: ZBD Technology in POP Display 77
Figure 44: ZBD Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 78
Figure 45: Cross Section of ChLCD 80
Figure 46: ChLCD Electronic Book Reader 82
Figure 48: Kent Displays Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 84
Figure 49: Photo of ITRI's ChLCD 85
Figure 50: ITRI Color ChLCDs 85
Figure 51: Price Tag Using E-Paper Display 86
Figure 52: Cross-Section of a Photo-Addressable Electronic Paper from Fuji Xerox 87
Figure 53: Fuji Xerox Full Color ChlCD 87
Figure 54: Cross Section of an Aveso Display 89
Figure 55: Example of Aveso Display Card Application 89
Figure 56: Aveso Roadmap 90
Figure 57: Aveso Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 92
Figure 58: Photograph of Siemens Electrochromic Display. 93
Figure 59: Ntera Display 96
Figure 60: Ntera Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 97
Figure 61: Prototype Electrodeposition Displays from Konica Minolta 98
Figure 62: Polymer Vision Readius 100
Figure 63: Cross Section of Polymer Vision Backplane 100
Figure 64: Polymer Vision Processing 101
Figure 65:  Polymer Vision Roadmap 102
Figure 66: Plastic Logic Dresden Factory 104
Figure 67: Simplicity of Printable Processing at Room Temperature 105
Figure 68: Products are Aimed at E-Book Readers 106
Figure 69: Plastic Logic's Technology Roadmap 106
Figure 70: LG Display 14.3-inch 1200x800 Full Color E-P Display Using E Ink 108
Figure 71: E Ink Display Using Seiko Epson Backplane 111
Figure 72: Examples of Liquavista's ColorBright Products 114
Figure 73: Images from Liquavista's new Chinese volume-production plant 114
Figure 74: Tryadesign Example from the Liquidizer 115
Figure 75: Cross Section of EW Display and its Operation 116
Figure 76: Full Color EWD Using Double Substrates and Color Filter 116
Figure 77: Full Color Using Triple Layers of Cyan, Magenta and Yellow 117
Figure 78: Liquavista Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 119
Figure 79: Cross Section of ADT's EWD 121
Figure 80: Droplet Moving Through Constriction 121
Figure 81: Color Gamut for Stacked ADT Display 122
Figure 82: HiSense Phone with QMT Display 124
Figure 83: Illustration of Qualcomm's 'Mirasol' Technology 126
Figure 84: Operation of Qualcomm Display 127
Figure 85: Qualcomm Manufacturing-Customer Relationships 129
Figure 86: Opalux Varies Colors by Voltage 131
Figure 87: Steps in the Fabrication of Elastomeric Photonic Crystal Films 133
Figure 88: Cross Section of Fuji Film Display 135
Figure 89: EBR Market Pricing 137
Figure 90: EBR Price Development as a Function of Front-Plane Technology 139
Figure 91: EBR Price Development for Various Screen Sizes 139
Figure 92: Market Pricing and Price Predictions 141
Figure 93: US Wholesale Electronic Book Sales 145
Figure 94: Population Japan + USA + Western Europe 147
Figure 95: USA Household Income Distribution 147
Figure 96: Historical Penetration Trends  150
Figure 97: Adjusted TAM for General Purpose e-Book Reader 153
Figure 98: Poisson Distribution of Books sold per Person in the USA 154
Figure 99: Evaluation of General e-Book Market Segment 157
Figure 100: General e-Book Market Segment Sales Forecast 157
Figure 102: Newspaper Circulation and Trend 159
Figure 103: Online Usage of US Newspaper Websites 160
Figure 104: Magazine Types in the US 161
Figure 105: Adjusted TAM for e-Newspaper Readers 162
Figure 107: Monthly Subscription Cost 163
Figure 108: e-Newspaper Evaluation 164
Figure 109: e-Newspaper Forecast 165
Figure 110: High School & College Enrollment in the USA & Western Europe & Japan10 166
Figure 111: e-Textbook Evaluation 168
Figure 112: Adjusted TAM for e-Textbook Reader 168
Figure 113: e-Textbook Reader Forecast 169
Figure 114: Adjusted TAM for Professional Reference Book Application 171
Figure 115: Evaluation of Professional Reference Book Application 172
Figure 116: Professional Reference Book Market Sales Forecast 173
Figure 117: Adjusted TAM for e-Dictionary Reader 174
Figure 118: Evaluation of e-Dictionary Market Segment 175
Figure 119: e-Dictionary Forecast 176
Figure 120: Comic and Manga Market Overview 177
Figure 121: Adjusted TAM for e-Comic Readers 179
Figure 122: e-Comic Evaluation 180
Figure 123: e-Comic Reader Forecast 181
Figure 124: Amazon's Kindle 182
Figure 125: Astak's EZ Reader 184
Figure 126: Astak Mentor Reader 185
Figure 127: Bookeen's Cybook Gen 3 187
Figure 128: BeBook's Book Reader 187
Figure 129: Brother e-book Reader 189
Figure 130: eBook Technologies' ETI-1 192
Figure 131: eBook Technologies' ETI-2 194
Figure 132: Ectaco jetBook Reader 196
Figure 133: ERead Technology's STAR 197
Figure 134: Foxit eSlick Reader 198
Figure 135: Fujitsu Frontech's Flepia e-Reader 199
Figure 136: iRex Technologies' Iliad 202
Figure 137: iRex 1000 e-Reader 204
Figure 138: Jinke Hanlin's V9 (left) and Sony's PRR-505 204
Figure 139: Kolibri V3 Reader 205
Figure 140: NUUT from Neolux 205
Figure 141: Panasonic's Sigma 206
Figure 142: Plastic Logic Flexible Reader 208
Figure 143: Sony PRS-700 Reader 209
Figure 144: Toshiba's DCT-100 209
Table of Tables:
Table 1: Summary of Requirements Additional to High Brightness, High Contrast and Wide Viewing Angle. 11
Table 2: Technology Specs 13
Table 3: Technology Ratings 14
Table 4: Suitability for Applications 15
Table 5: Summary Chart of Companies in Order of Maturity 16
Table 6: E-Paper Technology Roadmaps (1) 17
Table 7: E-Paper Technology Roadmaps (2) 18
Table 8: Comparison of Some E-Book Reader Devices 20
Table 9: Typical Publication Sizes 23
Table 10: Summary of EBR Requirements 28
Table 11: Some of BiNem's 21 Patents, Claims and Publications 70
Table 12: ZBD Product Performance 76
Table 13: Electronic Book Reader ASP Price Forecast based on Interviews 138
Table 14: Parameters of the EBR Cost Model 138
Table 15: Comparison of EBR Features with Other CE Products 149
Table 16: Adjusted TAM vs. Electronic Product 149
Table 17: Penetration Curve vs. CE Product 150
Table 18: Adjustments to the Book Reading TAM 153
Table 19: e-Book EBR Buying Factors 156
Table 20: e-Newspaper and e-Magazine EBR Buying Factors 163
Table 21: e-Textbooks EBR Buying Factors 167
Table 22: US Population by Occupation in 2006 171
Table 23: Professional Reference Book Buying Factors 172
Table 24: e-Dictionary Buying Factors 175
Table 25: e-Comic EBR Buying Factors 179

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