No more printing of learning content?

As much as I support and champion electronic delivery of learning content, I know that the majority of lengthier material is printed and read offline, where it can be annotated, highlighted, and tossed in a backpack to be read on the bus. While I spend most of my working day and a good chunk of my evenings consuming materials from a screen, I wouldn't consider starting a novel or even a lengthy article by curling up with my laptop.

I've been keeping an eye out for technologies that could make reading large quantities of digital material less eye-aching and have been watching the development of Sony's electronic paper-based reader for some time and it looks set to finally be available for purchase. The Reader is a paperback sized tablet device with uses technology called E Ink for its black and white display, rather than the LCD screens of laptops and PDAs.

Instead of rows of glowing cells, E Ink® microcapsules actually appear as either black or white depending on a positive or negative charge determined by the content. The result is a reading experience that'’s similar to paper - high contrast, high resolution, viewable in direct sunlight and at a nearly 180-degree angle, and requiring no power to maintain the image.

While the design of the casing leaves room for improvement, the technology is so wonderfully simple and effective, I can't help but think about how tools like the Reader could change the way text-based learning content is consumed, and for that matter, the way academics libraries provide resources. No word on retail pricing yet, but with a September release in the US advertised, I will definitely keep watching this one. Just think of the trees that could be saved.