Comments on: Meet the World’s One and Only 10″ E-ink E-reader – A51 https://the-digital-reader.com/2011/09/14/meet-the-worlds-one-and-only-10-e-ink-e-reader-a51/ News and tech help for the indie author Sat, 13 May 2017 21:18:58 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.2 By: charlie dulin https://the-digital-reader.com/2011/09/14/meet-the-worlds-one-and-only-10-e-ink-e-reader-a51/#comment-27282 Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:39:37 +0000 http://the-digital-reader.com/?p=24196#comment-27282 In reply to Holly Gates.

Holly, I will have to revisit positron for another look but i think you mentioned in the blue chute articles about wanting to have a built in solar charging option that flipped out when needed. glad you actually got to build one and really like that you used it as a cover for the device.

thanks for the link to the solar firm

]]> By: Nate Hoffelder https://the-digital-reader.com/2011/09/14/meet-the-worlds-one-and-only-10-e-ink-e-reader-a51/#comment-26955 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:19:46 +0000 http://the-digital-reader.com/?p=24196#comment-26955 In reply to Holly Gates.

Hi Holly,

Thanks for dropping in! Yes, I did know about Snippy (it’s mentioned in the other post). That’s how I first found your site.

]]> By: Holly Gates https://the-digital-reader.com/2011/09/14/meet-the-worlds-one-and-only-10-e-ink-e-reader-a51/#comment-26953 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:52:14 +0000 http://the-digital-reader.com/?p=24196#comment-26953 Hi Nate, this is Holly. Thanks for the kind words! As you note, the screen itself was developed for a Japanese customer and was envisioned for an office type product, hence its A5 dimensions (the source of the A51 name, along with connotations of secret projects). This demo was very successful in getting potential customers to think about the possibilities that could be opened up with E Ink screens, even if the design and construction were probably too aggressive for a real mass market device.

If you are thinking about solar powered ebooks, check out a version of such a product I made a demo for and entered into the Greener Gadgets 2008 competition:

There are a lot of possible variations on the idea of a solar charger; I’m kind of surprised no one has made an actual product with some form of solar charging as a well integrated feature.

Snippy was based on the bluechute demo mentioned by Charlie, but with a thin solar cover attached with a living hinge and held fast with a magnetic catch.

These days I’m working at another MIT startup, a silicon solar cell technology outfit called 1366 Technologies (http://www.1366tech.com). This offers a lot less scope for small projects that can be publicly shown and can get the average person excited. Still rewarding and arguably more useful for the planet and our long term future, but sometimes I miss the days of rocking out awesome demos at E Ink!

]]> By: Nate Hoffelder https://the-digital-reader.com/2011/09/14/meet-the-worlds-one-and-only-10-e-ink-e-reader-a51/#comment-26937 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:33:30 +0000 http://the-digital-reader.com/?p=24196#comment-26937 In reply to charlie dulin.

You spoke to Holly? You lucky dog!

]]> By: charlie dulin https://the-digital-reader.com/2011/09/14/meet-the-worlds-one-and-only-10-e-ink-e-reader-a51/#comment-26933 Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:33:03 +0000 http://the-digital-reader.com/?p=24196#comment-26933 i spoke with holly once about this design and his others on the positron site- way back in 2006 or 2007. i was sketching designs for readers myself at the time and stumbled upon his site. the posts he write about how he made the case etc were very instructive. the design i sketched was allot like this with a flippy atttached cover that put the device to sleep when closed and then woke it up when you opened it. i took the idea of his with the bulk to one side and added it to my design giving the cover a place to nestle in when open.

his bluechute is still to me one of the best overall designs.

anyway good to talk to. learned allot about device making and eink from him and J.D Albert when i was exploring building my own device in 2007ish

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