Belgium: e-paper test launch

By EditorsWeblog

De Tijd, the Antwerp based daily with Belgium's highest online readership, will be the world's first paper to launch a digital version, for a three month trial period beginning in April 2006. The paper will take the form of a portable electronic device; a paper thin screen the size of a newspaper page. Users will connect to the internet with the device and download their newspaper. Updates will be provided throughout the day. 200 subscribers to the newspaper will be able to take part in this initiative. The paper can be read indoors or outside. Based on an estimated use time of three hours per day, the device's battery would last for a week. The device has a storage capacity of 244 megabytes; the equivalent of a month's worth of newspapers, thirty books and office documents in different formats. E Ink, creators of the electronic ink technology integral to the initiative, are working on developing coloured ink; currently 16 different shades of grey are available. Added video and sound features could take up to 10 years to develop.Readers will be able to write comments and scribble on the paper by using a special marker. Interactive advertising will also be featured. Source: M&C Tech (through the IFRA newsletter)