# The Evolution of eInk

**URL:** <https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859>\
**Category:** blog\
**Created:** [December 15, 2014, 8:47am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859 "2014-12-15T08:47:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CWagner](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/cwagner/32/73127_2.png) [@CWagner](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/CWagner)\
**Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/41 "2015-01-04T00:25:18Z")

</div>

I had the Kindle Keyboard (that’s the 3rd gen I think) for a long time, after the paperwhite was released I started hoping it would break, but those things are sturdy. Around the time Voyage came out, it started crashing and battery life got annoying. However, reviews of the Voyage made me get a paperwhite instead. Too many “Monday models” seem to be around of it.

I’ll have to see if I’ll upgrade for a 2nd edition of I just wait for whatever comes next.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![cawas](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/cawas/32/72978_2.png) [@cawas](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/cawas)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/42 "2015-01-05T21:09:29Z")

</div>

> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> See the “send to Kindle” browser extension. Just find a page you want to read later, click the button, bam, delivered to Kindle for later reading.

D’oh! Finally a good reason to get a kindle, and I knew it was possible for some time already. I’d probably [use pocket](http://help.getpocket.com/customer/portal/articles/361724-how-to-configure-calibre-with-pocket) though. Also, I’ll go and buy one thanks to this. Any way to do it and get you your commision? 😛

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![naw](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v2/letter/n/e47774/32.png) [@naw](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/naw)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/43 "2015-01-08T01:18:38Z")

</div>

> [@cawas](#):
>
> D’oh! Finally a good reason to get a kindle, and I knew it was possible for some time already. I’d probably [use pocket](http://help.getpocket.com/customer/portal/articles/361724-how-to-configure-calibre-with-pocket) though. I’ll go and buy one thanks to this, though. Any way to do it and get you your commision? 😛

Kobo ereaders are integrated with Pocket, so you may want to take a look to those. I use it a lot on mine.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![cawas](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/cawas/32/72978_2.png) [@cawas](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/cawas)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/44 "2015-01-08T02:25:07Z")

</div>

> [@naw](#):
>
> Kobo ereaders

Damn, I never realized there are so many flavors of e-Ink!

Do they have “unlimited” 3G worldwide as well? [Some people sure seem to love it](http://www.cultofmac.com/282216/escape-amazons-evil-kindle-empire-cheeky-kobo-aura/#comment-1444736644) regardless the few missing features, and I’m not sure how much I’d use that limited 3G anyways.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![naw](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v2/letter/n/e47774/32.png) [@naw](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/naw)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/45 "2015-01-08T13:04:19Z")

</div>

> [@cawas](#):
>
> Damn, I never realized there are so many flavors of e-Ink!
> 
> Do they have “unlimited” 3G worldwide as well? [Some people sure seem to love it](http://www.cultofmac.com/282216/escape-amazons-evil-kindle-empire-cheeky-kobo-aura/#comment-1444736644) regardless the few missing features, and I’m not sure how much I’d use that limited 3G anyways.

No, they don’t have 3g… In fact I suspect that only amazon has it. But I use mi ereader mostly at home, and I have a huge list of articles pending to read, so it0’s not an issue for me.

Anyway, you can use tethering with a smartphone in order to update pocket articles.

Oh, a warning: since a couple of firmware updates, the experimental browser tends to hang the device. A ereader is not oriented to Internet browsing, but it comes handy to look things on wikipedia.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![cawas](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/cawas/32/72978_2.png) [@cawas](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/cawas)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/46 "2015-01-08T14:05:49Z")

</div>

Yeah, it does look like eInk is still too slow for browsing internet…

I was mostly hoping to use its 3G for reading emails and, yes, wikipedia alikes, in places I can’t find internet for whatever reason when travelling around.

I guess I’ll just have to try both eventually. Thanks for all hints! 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bfourie](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/bfourie/32/77086_2.png) [@bfourie](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/bfourie)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/47 "2015-01-09T10:40:04Z")

</div>

Personally spending a few hundred dollars on a tablet, and then spending another few on e-ink did not make sense to me. The kindle app is free, and installed on retina ipad mini, does the job. Currently reading Clean Code by Robert Martin on it, and everything displays 100%. No issues with code blocks or images. Perhaps the kindle device works different than the app?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/codinghorror/32/36371_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/codinghorror)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2025, 3:57am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859/50 "2025-08-22T03:57:26Z")

</div>

I think regular greyscale eInk has plateaued. Resolution is solid, the backlighting is very even, and you can balance for color temperature (or if, like me, you prefer a slightly yellowed page instead of blinding pure white). Looks like per the [wikipedia Kindle product spec table](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle#Device_specifications), we peaked at **7”, 1264 x 1680, 300 PPI, 16 levels of greyscale**.

Not sure there’s much more to be gained from further improvements on greyscale eInk other than lower prices?

> **[Ask HN: Why has eInk technology stalled compared to other display tech?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34312117)**
>
> I'm surprised how slow the pace of innovation has been for eInk. Is there something inherent to the technology that makes things like faster refreshed very difficult to realize?

Apparently [“Peak Kindle” was 2018](https://500ish.com/plateau-kindle-before-peak-kindle-96f8948bd880), it’s now 2025!

> Anyway, my point here is how **the product — which again, I love — has plateaued**. And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, except that it’s pretty clear to all fans of the Kindle what the end game is here.

The next step is clearly color 🟥🟩🟦! I tried some early color eInk and wasn’t impressed, but I did like the Kindle Colorsoft quite a bit! left side is regular modern Kindle Paperwhite, right side is the Colorsoft:

 ![image](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/uploads/default/original/3X/2/b/2b25b782ba5767330c02c22d925f329d676d1e47.jpeg)

> **[2024 Kindle Colorsoft and Paperwhite Review: No perfect choices](https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/11/2024-kindle-colorsoft-and-paperwhite-review-no-perfect-choices/)**
>
> The Kindle Paperwhite (left) and Colorsoft (right). The world of ebook readers is in a weird place, but when hasn’t it been? E-readers have always been a strange product niche, not just since…

I’m also looking forward to this [BLOOMIN8 eInk frame](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arpobot/bloomin8-canvas-the-ai-powered-full-color-e-ink-art-frame) a LOT, it’s almost shipped and looks much more vibrant:

 ![image](https://discourse-cdn.codinghorror.com/uploads/default/original/3X/0/8/0888121afc4781cafd7da6a2917e4355ded7660d.jpeg)

[Previous page](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/the-evolution-of-eink/2859.md?page=2)