ry, physics and electronics to create this new
material. The principal components of electronic ink are
millions of tiny microcapsules, about the diameter of a human
hair. In one incarnation, each microcapsule contains positively
charged white particles and negatively charged black particles
suspended in a clear fluid. When a negative electric field is
applied, the white particles move to the top of the
microcapsule where they become visible to the user. This makes
the surface appear white at that spot. At the same time, an
opposite electric field pulls the black particles to the bottom
of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this
process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule,
which now makes the surface appear dark at that spot. To form
an E Ink electronic display, the ink is printed onto a sheet of
plastic film that is laminated to a layer of circuitry. The
circuitry forms a pattern of pixels that can then be controlled
by a display driver. These microcapsules are suspended in a
liquid 'carrier medium' allowing them to be printed using
existing screen printing processes onto virtually any surface,
including glass, plastic, fabric and even paper. Ultimately
electronic ink will permit most any surface to become a
display, bringing information out of the confines of
traditional devices and into the world around us."

Sony launched its first reading device, Librie 1000-EP, in
Japan in April 2004, in partnership with Philips and E Ink.
Librie was the first reading device to use the E Ink
technology, with a 6-inch screen, a 10 M memory, and a 500-
ebook capacity. eBooks were downloaded from a computer through
a USB port. The Sony Reader was launched in October 2006 in the
U.S. for US $350, followed by cheaper and revamped models.

Amazon.com launched its own reading device, the Kindle, in
November 2007. Before launching the Kindle, Amazon.com bought
in April 2005 Mobipocket, a French company specializing in
ebooks for PDAs, cellphones and smartphones, with a catalog of
several thousands of books in several languages to be read on
the Mobipocket Reader.

The Kindle was launched with a catalog of 80,000 ebooks - and
new releases for US $9,99 each. The built-in memory and 2G SD
card gave plenty of book storage (1.4 G), with a screen using
the E Ink technology, and page-turning buttons. Books were
directly bought and downloaded via the device's 3G wireless
connection, with no need for a c