Fujitsu has taken the opportunity to parade its most recent electronic paper products at CEATEC Japan 2007. While they released a flexible color e-paper much earlier, Fujitsu has since taken a much bigger step by changing the form factor of their color e-paper to that of an e-reader - a prototype content browser that measures roughly the size of an A5 sheet of paper. This new Fujitsu prototype is extremely light so that your hands won’t suffer from cramps while reading a really thick novel, and boasts a high-contrast, easy to read 4,096 color display with a stunning battery life (up to 50 hours) courtesy of its ability to hold an image once it is displayed without drawing on any power.

The main strength of the e-paper format is its ability to mimic the convenience of the traditional paper medium without drawing on vast amounts of power while merging the storage advantages of digital hardware like portable computers. Sony has recently unveiled the second generation of its Reader digital book that can hold a maximum of 160 full novels at any one time. As for Fujitsu’s offering at CEATEC, it has been given the moniker FLEPia “Ubiquitous Content Browser”, and has enough memory inside to store up to one year’s worth of newspapers - that’s approximately 10MB per day with images when you’re taking advantage of a 4GB SD memory card. Having said that, 4GB of storage space is also equal to the task of archiving approximately 5,000 books.

The Flepia will come in both A4 and A5 formats with displays that measure 8″ and 12″ respectively. The A4 model will weigh 320 grams while the 12″ display is just about to touch the half kilogram mark at 480 grams. Both of them measure a mere 12mm thin, and boasts XGA resolution (768 x 1,024), a touch panel, button operation, and the ability to be updated over a wireless LAN network. No idea on how much each of these costs, but they shouldn’t be too cheap in the beginning.

Source: Gizmag