US

 

Receive Virtual Postcards on This Beautiful E Ink Photo Frame

Hackaday

By Robin Kearey

May 22, 2022

Sending postcards to loved ones used to be standard procedure for travelers back when travel was glamorous and communications were slow. While some travelers still keep this tradition alive, many have replaced stamps and post offices with instant messaging and social media — faster and more convenient, but a lot less special than receiving a postcard with a handwritten message from a faraway land. [Cameron] designed a postcard picture frame that aims to bring back a bit of that magic. It’s a wooden frame that holds an e-ink display, which shows pictures sent to it by your friends.

 

The BMW iX Reads Your Mind to Change Color

CarBuzz

By Chase Bierenkoven

May 22, 2022

Usually, one of the hallmarks of being "in the future" is the ability to control things with your mind. Star Wars, Bladerunner, and Minority Report all have it, and now so does BMW. At CES, the Bavarian brand unveiled the BMW iX Flow. This special version of the electric BMW iX uses E-Ink to change colors in real-time. For now, things are a bit limited, with black, grey, and white the only options. Moreover, it's not yet ready for mass release. This is purely a concept. Regardless, it's cool tech that BMW is making a whole hell of a lot cooler. Right now, BMW is testing a feature that will allow users to change the color of the iX Flow with their minds. Munich-based startup brainboost is responsible for the tech.

 

Apple’s Next Trick: Letting You Borrow Cables From Android Friends

Gizmodo

By Florence Ion

May 20, 2022

It might not seem like the needle-moving announcement that Apple would make. But thanks to a news bit from a trusted analyst, there’s hope on the horizon that someday soon, Apple iPhones and Android smartphones will stop being separated—by charging cables, at least. (Don’t expect any parity on messaging any time soon!) … In addition to the USB-C tidbit, there’s chatter about everything from what the Apple Watch Series 8 will be capable of to whether iOS 16 will see much of a significant bump. We’ll also get into some of the patents revealed over the past few weeks, including a Surface Pro-like keyboard for the iPad and a foldable iPhone with a color E Ink display.

Similar Articles: Forbes, Macworld

 

Hisense Hi Reader vs. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition

Good eReader

By Michael Kozlowski

May 20, 2022

The Hisense Hi Reader is the first dedicated e-reader that Hisense has ever produced and today we are looking at how it compares against the 11th Generation Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. On Paper, these devices are quite similar to each other. They both have large screens, similar specs and have 300 PPI, for high resolution fonts … The Hisense Hi Reader features an E INK Carta HD 6.7-inch E Ink display with 300 PPI resolution and an 84 percent screen-to-body ratio. The display allows for 36 white LED lights, that allow you to adjust the brightness with a slider bar. Hisense has never included a warm light system on any of their devices. It has a candy bar design, so it is very tall and not very wide.

 

UK

 

Can You Use a Kindle as a Tablet? Here’s What’s Possible on Amazon’s eReaders

T3

By Carrie Marshall

May 21, 2022

Can you use a Kindle as a tablet? A few years ago the answer was yes, because Amazon rather confusingly applied the Kindle brand not just to Kindle e-readers, but to its Kindle Fire tablets too. Now, though, the naming is much clearer: a Kindle is an e-reader, and Amazon's tablets are Fire tablets. There are several reasons why you can't use a Kindle as a tablet. The first and most important one is that they use a different kind of display. Tablets have the same kind of displays as smartphones, which are glossy and updated tens or hundreds of times per second. Kindle e-readers have e-ink, which is much easier to read in directly sunlight and which is only updated when you turn the page. That means their battery life is tremendous, but it also means they can't respond like a smartphone or tablet display can respond. And so far, Amazon's e-ink displays are monochrome, not colour.

 

Customer

 

Kindle Oasis vs. Paperwhite: Which is Better for You?

Book Riot

By Danika Ellis

May 20, 2022

While there’s a range of ereaders on the market, there’s no arguing that the Kindle has taken the top spot in terms of popularity. But narrowing down your ereader purchasing to a Kindle is only the first step. After that, there’s the crucial question of which Kindle model to get. Two of the most well-loved Kindle models are the Paperwhite and the Oasis. They both have similar sized screens and share a lot of features. So, the Kindle Oasis vs. Paperwhite: which one should you get?

 

One Man’s Quest to Bring Back the Small Phone

TechCrunch

By Brian Heater

May 20, 2022

In 2017, we noted that smartphone screen sizes had settled into a sweet spot between five and six inches. In hindsight, that may well have been wishful thinking. A brief respite aside, it seems that phones have only continued to embiggen, driven by a continued spec war and panel manufacturers like Samsung … One wonders, ultimately, why the proliferation of the smartphone and increased competition have seemingly resulted in homogeneity. Certainly it’s not for lack of trying. When I mention the Palm Phone, he retorts, “I love that they tried! Also the Light Phone 2 is really interesting, but not great as primary phones.”

 

Industry

 

Exclusive: Sign of the Times for Retail

Installation International

By Rob Lane

May 20, 2022

One of the biggest industries to take a significant hit in the past two years was, of course, the retail market. High street shops closed for months on end, consumers started turning to online stores, and brands had to frantically update and refine their online offering. Fast forward to now, and retailers are desperately trying to give their customers new and enhanced experiences that bring them back in store, but still provide the mass availability of online. But how can AV help these brands to communicate important messages, promote latest styles and offerings, and ultimately give their customers a complete offline and online experience? There’s multiple ways to use AV in retail, but digital signage has got to be the most impactful.

 

Sustainable Technology Successes From a Green Spring

Chain Store Age

By Dan Berthiaume

May 20, 2022

Retailers have been reaping the rewards of environmentally friendly solutions during the past few months. Environmental sustainability is currently one of the hottest topics in retail. Customers increasingly demand that the retailers and brands they give their business to follow environmentally sound practices. In addition, retailers are discovering that what is good for the environment is also good for operational efficiency and profitability. Here are three examples of retailers reaping the benefits of sustainable technologies and strategies during spring 2022.

 

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