Samsung has decided the display world needed another gimmick, so it has unveiled a 13-inch colour e-paper screen built with bio-resin derived from phytoplankton.
Plankton has taken time from its busy schedule of feeding whales and other marine life to retrain as ePaper.
The company says it is using microscopic marine organisms as a material source, which makes for a cracking press release, even if it sounds like a sci-fi shortage economy.
Samsung’s angle is sustainability, with a claim that the bio-resin can reduce carbon emissions in manufacturing by more than 40 per cent compared with petroleum-based plastics.
Behind the eco varnish, the panel is a 13.3-inch 1600 x 1200 display that Samsung says looks and feels like paper. It consumes zero watts when displaying a static image and draws power only when refreshing, typical of e-paper.
Anyone hoping this is a proper consumer e-reader can cool off. Samsung is aiming the EM13DX at businesses for shelves, menus and office signage, which means the riffraff can’t buy one. It is the sort of product that lives in a procurement catalogue rather than in anyone’s bag.
Samsung Electronics Visual Display Business, executive vice president Hyoung Jae Kim said: “As businesses look for more flexible and efficient ways to communicate, Samsung Color E-Paper represents a shift in how digital signage fits into everyday operations,” and then doubled down on the eco angle.”
“By incorporating innovative technology such as phytoplankton-based bio-resin, we’re demonstrating our commitment to advancing both display technology and the materials behind it,” he added.
Samsung claims the housing has been verified by UL to be 45 per cent recycled plastic and 10 per cent phytoplankton-based bio-resin. It also claims that swap can reduce manufacturing carbon emissions by more than 40 per cent compared with petroleum-based resin, based on internal tests under specific conditions.
The hardware details are more interesting than the plankton headline. It is 17.9mm thick, weighs 0.9kg with its embedded rechargeable battery, and supports USB-C, so it can be deployed without permanent power cables.
