Tech Update: The Electronic Newspaper

Ever wondered that the fiction shown in the movie "Minority Report" would turn into reality? Ya, this time the idea of the famous director Steven Speilberg has been materialised by IBM. Now, what is Electronic Newspaper?

An electronic newspaper is a self-contained, reusable, and refreshable version of a traditional newspaper that acquires and holds information electronically. The near-future technology - researchers expect to have the product available as soon as 2003 - will use e-paper (electronic paper) as the major component. Information to be displayed will be downloaded through a wireless Internet connection. A number of versions of the future technology are in development, although there are two frontrunners: Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) is working on a newspaper that would consist of a single sheet of their e-paper (called Gyricon), while Lucent, in partnership with a company called E Ink, is working on a multi-page device.

The challenge involved in creating a viable electronic newspaper is to develop a device that has the desirable characteristics of traditional paper in addition to its own inherent benefits (such as being automatically refreshable). Like traditional paper, the electronic newspaper must be lightweight, flexible, high-resolution, glare-free, and affordable, if it is to gain consumer approval. Sheridon proposes that the Gyricon version could cost about the same as a year's subscription to a regular newspaper.

So, what are you thinking of??? The day when your traditional 'Paper' newspaper being replaced by 'Electronic' newspaper is not far away!!!...