News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:E-Ink Case Turns the Back of Your Phone Into a Second Screen by MiguelHudnandez on Sunday December 02, 2012 @07:00PM (#4863184)
Does anyone else have a problem with the obviously unrealistic video? I have never seen an e-ink display running at ~30FPS smoothly.
Re:E-Ink Case Turns the Back of Your Phone Into a Second Screen by jdlshore on Sunday December 02, 2012 @08:11PM (#4863409)
Yes, it makes me question the legitimacy of the whole project. In addition to the surprising smoothness, the picture of the bridge is in (washed out) color, although they said color wouldn't be available until 2014. And how is the case drawing power? I would expect there to be a bulge at the base of the case. Also, they showed touch-sensitivity in the video. Is that real?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Gregory Moon is an MD. I couldn't see Yashar Behzadi's LinkedIn profile, but he's listed under "Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing," which is a bit reassuring. Still, I want to see evidence of a real prototype.

Re:E-Ink Case Turns the Back of Your Phone Into a Second Screen by MaxGabriel on Sunday December 02, 2012 @10:42PM (#4863825)
The article says that they don't have any touch sensitivity -- their app uses the iPhone accelerometer to detect touches. Sounds like a good feature for the app (like as a way to preview what your photos will look like on the e-ink), but it would only work when the app is running, and the indiegogo page doesn't make that clear.
Re:E-Ink Case Turns the Back of Your Phone Into a Second Screen by nicw on Sunday December 02, 2012 @09:56PM (#4863659)
They are drawing power from the lightning port (in the FAQ). But you're right - the prototype doesn't show a bulge for that to happen. Nor (as in my other comment) does there seem to be a pass-through port for you to dock or connect a lightning cable.

Regarding the 30FPS, I've seen demos of e-ink running at high refresh rates (don't know what FPS), but was told that the hit on the battery is too high. Hence why the Kindle rarely refreshes.

Re:E-Ink Case Turns the Back of Your Phone Into a Second Screen by lukifer on Sunday December 02, 2012 @07:53PM (#4863365)
There are some e-ink screens that can barely support video, but there's usually still heavy ghosting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24srQXX81Oc

I'm willing to let them cheat a bit on the static refresh rate in the demo, but the fact that they're showing animated UI effects like zooms and fades is a little worrisome, unless they have access to next-gen eInk that I don't know about.

Re:E-Ink Case Turns the Back of Your Phone Into a Second Screen by ratzinho87 on Monday December 03, 2012 @02:34AM (#4864363)
It may be an "e-paper" display, similar to the one Pebble is using. Looking at the Pebble demo videos, you can see that they do support high framerate. Not so sure about the size though.

[1]http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper... [2] http://www.sharpmemorylcd.com/1-26-inch-memory-lcd.html

Re:E-Ink Case Turns the Back of Your Phone Into a Second Screen by jonmrodriguez on Monday December 03, 2012 @02:55AM (#4864404)
But memory LCDs ("e-paper") still have 15 uW quiescent power use, whereas the case is marketed as "always on" (zero quiescent power). So, no.