Sign In
SHARE
'Esquire' Shows E-Ink Is a Work in Progress
The future has arrived -- but don't expect it to bowl you over.
Esquire unveiled its 75th anniversary issue this morning, with its much-heralded electronic cover. "It is a game-changer," promised publisher Kevin O'Malley at a press conference.
But the technology doesn't quite measure up to the hype. The digital display, which flashes permutations of the message "The 21st Century Begins Now," is only a little bigger than a credit card, and about as flexible. (There's also a somewhat less impressive digital ad on the inside cover for the Ford Flex.) No one will be rolling this magazine up to swat the dog anytime soon. The palette is limited to black and white, although several color transparencies appear to light up when the panels behind them flash white.
"Version 1.0 of anything is always going to be version 1.0," said O'Malley after the unveiling was over. He said the display itself (created by a company called E Ink, which helped produce the Kindle and the Sony Reader) is actually quite flexible, but it had to be encased in protective material to prevent damage during production. "This is a 21st century technology in a 20th-century printing process," he said.
But the cover did exceed expectations in one way: Initially, Esquire had said the batteries powering the display would last about 90 days. After more testing, they are expected to function for six to eight months, said editor in chief David Granger. Granger said he plans to produce another issue using E Ink's technology sometime in the first half of 2009.
As for the environmental footprint of the issue, E Ink's vice president of marketing, Sriram Peruvembra, laid out a scenario in which magazines of the future are produced exclusively with e-paper that can be updated from issue to issue. "You can imagine the green aspect at that time," he said.
Loading...
Thank you for registering as a Portfolio.com Insider. Your comment has been added.
Create Your Public Profile
- Conde Nast Closing 'Portfolio'
- Apr 27 2009 10:02AM EDT
- Newspaper Circ: 'WSJ' Gains as 'NY Post' Tumbles
- Apr 27 2009 9:32AM EDT
- Idle Chatter: The Prognosis for Newspapers, more
- Apr 27 2009 8:55AM EDT
- Late Breaks: MySpace, NYT, 'New York'
- Apr 24 2009 4:01PM EDT
- Nostalgia, Entitlement and Murdoch's 'Journal'
- Apr 24 2009 4:00PM EDT
- Huffpo's Lerer on the 'New and Better' Journalism
- Apr 24 2009 12:44PM EDT
- Ailes Heats Up Cold Spring with Newspaper War
- Apr 24 2009 12:33PM EDT
- Happy Friday. Now Watch This.
- Apr 24 2009 10:24AM EDT
- Idle Chatter: NPR Cutbacks, Jon Meacham, more
- Apr 24 2009 8:50AM EDT
- Late Breaks: Twitter and the 'Times,' more
- Apr 23 2009 5:59PM EDT
- CNN Partner's Polling Finds CNN Fair, Balanced
- Apr 23 2009 4:10PM EDT
- 'Scientific American' Editor Out in Reorg
- Apr 23 2009 3:19PM EDT
- Idle Chatter: MySpace, Nerve, 'Millionaire,' more
- Apr 23 2009 8:20AM EDT
- Late Breaks: 'Observer' Editor Resigns, more
- Apr 22 2009 4:15PM EDT
- One Marriage, One Memoir, Two Opinions
- Apr 22 2009 2:31PM EDT
Archive
Categories
Links
- Contact Me
- News After Newspapers
- Romenesko
- Gawker
- Ad Age
- WWD's Memo Pad
- Keith Kelly
- NYT Media
- Jon Fine
- TVNewser
- Magazine Death Pool
- HuffPo Media
- Galleycat
- News Hounds
- Newsbusters
- Jezebel
- Editor & Publisher
- Hollywood Wiretap
- The Media Pundit
- FAIR
- I Want Media
- Viral Video
- Nikki Finke
- MediaFile
- The Business Insider
- Paid Content
- Valleywag
- Cover Awards
- Talking Biz News
- SI.com - Richard Deitsch
- Gapper Blog - Media
- Jon Friedman
- Nieman Journalism Lab
- NY Observer media page
- Media Shift
- Tyndall Report
- Media Nation
