You’re probably been reading about e-Ink concepts that are out there (here and here for example).

These, like the many before them, treat e-Ink as a conceptual anomaly that may one day be cool.

Well, it has been here for a bit, in useful practice. The people at ARINC developed the eFLYBOOK and it is available for pilots the world over. It is an e-Ink viewer for use in aircraft, mainly for pilots.

This is an entirely interactive tablet (hmmm, you Tablet PC (and Mac) folks paying attention,, maybe the back of a regular laptop screen maybe?) that stores, maps, charts, and forms for pilots to fill out. It does it all with a material that reads like ink on paper (yes, hence e-Ink). Stylus interactivity of course as well.

The thing about the e-Ink is that the contrast ratio is like that of type on a regular book, no matter the angle, no matter the light, the contrast is the same (ok, at night it’s hard, but the same goes when reading a book, plus this can be backlit).

The silly thing, is it came out in July of last year. So while people scramble to be first to the e-Ink game. Here’s an industry leader that has a functional device that provides real value.

Go get one for $1499.00 USD at Aircraft Spruce.

Oh and if you haven’t been to Aircraft Spruce before, it’s like the best catalog of parts to make cool stuff ever! (go ahead, you Digi-key fans, bring it on!)