'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.