As Amazon ceased operations of its Kindle e-book store in China, Taiwan’s Cholesterol Liquid Crystal (ChLC) e-paper display consortium, consisting of Iris Optronics, TPK Holdings, and GeneTouch, is seizing the opportunity to fill the market gap. The Chinese e-reader market, with an anticipated demand scale exceeding CNY8.5 billion (US$1.16 billion) in 2023, presents a significant opportunity for these players.
Collaborating with China’s Time Publishing and Media, the consortium showcased novel cholesterol full-color e-paper display solutions and digital children’s picture book e-readers at the 13th China Digital Publishing Expo. Targeting China’s burgeoning educational sector, the consortium plans to introduce products featuring a 10-inch ChLC-based full-color e-paper display, with future expansions into 13-inch, 16-inch, and other models. Production and shipments are scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2024.
The digital children’s picture book e-readers, developed in partnership with Omvo Technology, incorporate a sound system into the e-paper display, synchronously producing pronunciation and sound effects aligned with the content of children’s picture books. ChLC-based e-paper technology, capable of displaying 16 million colors unaffected by external light sources, offers superior eye protection compared to traditional blue-light tablet displays.
Furthermore, it aligns with China’s energy-saving and carbon reduction policies, featuring low energy consumption and requiring only 1-2 charges for extended use. The consortium holds high expectations for the expansion of the Chinese electronic display market and anticipates positive growth in the global e-book reader market, driven by increasing environmental awareness in the context of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) considerations.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.