Traditionally, E Ink displays have been used almost exclusively for ebook readers and occasionally for devices that do not need a color screen, but which could benefit greatly from low power consumption and good contrast. But there is a company called Dasung that uses E Ink for larger displays aimed at other applications. Its biggest monitor to date is the 25-inch Paperlike 253, which is expected to hit the market in 2021.
Dasung positions its E Ink products specifically for those who experience eye pain when working with traditional LCD or OLED monitors because of blue light, bright colors, or screen flash. In particular, these electronic paper displays can be used by children with developing eyes, various office workers who spend a lot of time staring at their monitors, and the elderly. So far, Dasung has designed a 7.8-inch tablet with an E Ink display as well as a 13.3-inch E Ink external monitor for laptops. To address a broader audience who want to use E Ink instead of a regular screen, Dasung has developed its 25.3-inch Paperlike monitor.
The Dasung Paperlike 253 boasts a 3200x1800 resolution yet can only display 16 shades of gray. It also has a slower refresh rate when compared to typical LCD or OLED monitors. Meanwhile, the Paperlike 253 does not use any kind of backlighting and its brightness can be increased by a table lamp if needed. Evidently, the Dasung Paperlike 253 was not designed for anything with even decent refresh rates so don't expect to find it on our best gaming monitors list anytime soon. However, if all one needs is to read and write text or code, this display will suffice, notes Liliputing.
Dasung recently demonstrated a prototype of its Paperlike 253 to its potential customers from China without revealing any actual launch date or price. Given that the company is not trying to collect money on development and production start on a crowdfunding platform, it looks like the product is ready, but still needs some polishing off before it can go to the market. To that end, it is reasonable to expect it to be available in 2021.
Dasung's products were once available at Amazon, but at present those who want to get a 13.3-inch E Ink display will have to pay the company directly, so it is unclear whether Dasung has any plans to bring its Paperlike 253 to markets outside of China.
Pricing of the Paperlike is not something that the company wants to talk about just yet. Dasung has only revealed that the product will cost "¥1xxx9", which means anything from ¥10009 to ¥19999 (and it is unknown whether this includes taxes and/or shipping). Based on the current exchange rates, this 'teaser price' translates to anything between $1500 and $3000. Keeping in mind that the company sells its 13.3-inchers for about $1000, a rather high price for the new product is not something completely unexpected.
