What's Next For Electronic Paper Display Technologies? E Ink's Sriram Peruvemba on how he expects the e-reader market to advance.

By Heather Fletcher

According to recent studies, big things are on the horizon for e-readers in terms of growth and revenue. A recent mediaIDEAS report forecasted that 6 million e-paper display-based e-readers will be sold in 2010—nearly six times the number (1.1 million) sold in 2008. By 2020, the report predicts global annual e-reader sales will reach 446 million units with a value of more than $25 billion. Another study, by research company DisplaySearch, says that e-paper display revenues will reach $9.6 billion by 2018.

Shedding more light on the market is Sriram Peruvemba, vice president of marketing for E Ink Corp., the Cambridge, Mass.-based supplier of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies. Peruvemba gave a presentation Oct. 29, during Book Business’ Publishing Business Virtual Conference & Expo: Digital Content Day @ Your Desk. During the virtual show, which may be accessed on demand until Feb. 2, Peruvemba e-chatted with attendees about EPD, and the insight his company has gained as the provider of high-resolution displays for many e-reading devices, including the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader.

Here, Peruvemba speaks to Book Business Extra about what publishers and readers can expect from the next wave of e-reader technologies.

Book Business Extra: You mentioned during the virtual conference that full color displays should be available on e-readers by Q4 2010. Is E Ink working on other emerging technologies?
Sriram Peruvemba: Yes, full-color E Ink Vizplex-based displays are expected to be in production by end of next year. We will work on other emerging technologies, including faster update to support animation and video, improved monochrome technologies and flexible displays. …

Extra: Why will video be an important capability for e-readers? How can book publishers take advantage of this?
Peruvemba: … The real need for video … [is] in the area of e-textbooks, where the current two-dimensional images can be animated, and they can teach the subject or topic better than still pictures. ... Publishers could create content to take advantage of . … Images can come alive with E Ink Vizplex, providing some of the same experiences you have on the Internet. Combine that with audio (already available, but not display-related), and you have now brought the traditional TV, Internet and radio-type experience into a book or newspaper.