PlasticLogic’s New ePaper Tablet to Debuts at CES 2013 (video)
I almost didn’t go CES this year because I didn’t think would be any new or really cool gadgets to write about, but now that PlasticLogic Intel has proven me wrong I’m glad I’m here.
A new partnership has been announced between PlasticLogic, Intel, and Queen University’s Human Media Lab. This Ontario based university has just revealed the PaperTab, a new flexible tablet based around PlasticLogic’s epaper screen.
This tablet is running on a second generation Intel Core i5, and it uses the same 10.7″ plastic display which had previously been developed for PlasticLogic past failed devices like the Que and the PL 100, which was developed for the Russian education market. This tablet also has a touchscreen, and as you can see in the video it uses a rather fascinating way to transfer files from one screen to the next which looks to be similar to the tap-and share technology used in Samsung’s smartphones.
Other tricks shown off in the video include flexing the tablet to turn the page, something we’ve seen before in the Snaplet, a smart watch style device which the HML unveiled last year. That device was probably never planned as a commercial release, but clearly that project has influenced the PaperTab.
Before someone points out that a tethered device hardly qualifies as a tablet, let me say that I agree. That doesn’t mean it’s not cool, though it does suggest that this won’t ever be a less-than-ridiculously device.
The several screens used in the demo video cost some hundreds of dollars, and that puts it out of the running. I’m someone who is in the habit of working on 3 or more screens at once, a work process which is enabled by cheap Android tablets. While they might not be able to integrate as well as the PaperTab, my Android tablets function better as standalone devices.
In any case, this device is said to be at CES this week. I’ll seek it out.
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