High-speed e-paper now reaches 75 Hz for enhanced productivity tasks; two screen sizes are available for pre-order, with prices starting at $199.
Modos Tech Unveils Fast and Responsive e-Paper Monitors for Productivity Users
Modos Tech, a pioneering company in the e-paper industry, has announced the pre-order availability of its fast and responsive e-Paper monitors designed for productivity users. These monitors offer significant advantages over traditional LCD displays, providing a calmer, focused workspace with a low-power, eye-friendly e-ink display.
According to Alexander Soto, CEO of Modos Tech, e-paper offers a better path for users who are tired of the distraction, eye strain, and fatigue associated with mainstream displays. The company's e-Paper endeavour has taken time to reach this stage, with a project update reported in May 2024.
The Modos Paper Dev Kit, the company's latest offering, displays utilize an Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA, a DDR3 framebuffer, an STM32H750 microcontroller, and custom power-supply circuitry. These monitors deliver a refresh rate of up to 75 Hz and sub-100 ms latency, making them the world's fastest open-hardware e-Paper monitor.
The Modos Paper Dev Kit is available in two configurations: a 6-inch kit for $199 and a 13.3-inch kit for $599. The USB Type-C connection on the Dev Kit delivers power, and the monitors support multiple screen modes, including binary, 4-level, 16-level grayscale, and a hybrid mode.
The open-hardware electronic design of the Modos Paper Dev Kit displays aims to prevent e-paper from being held back by proprietary controllers and slow performance. This design philosophy is central to Modos Tech's claims of making e-paper acceptable for modern productivity.
Support for color e-paper displays is present in the design/architecture of the Modos Paper Dev Kit, but they are not being marketed at the moment. The Dev Kit displays are intended to offer the ergonomic benefits of e-Paper without the typical performance penalties associated with e-Ink and e-paper implementations.
Crowd Supply, known for pushing projects to completion, handles fulfillment, media production, and more for the Modos Paper Dev Kit project. Delivery of the Dev Kit is expected in Q4 2025. However, backing a product before it goes to market does entail some inherent risk.
For those interested, the Modos Paper Dev Kit is available for pre-order on Crowd Supply's website. The 13.3-inch Modos Paper Monitor features a 1600 x 1200 resolution, 60 Hz refresh rate, multiple image update modes, and HDMI and USB connectivity. The Development Kit Options include 6-inch or 13.3-inch e-ink panels, monochrome or color, without enclosures for easier integration in custom projects.
The open-source FPGA controller enables DIY tinkering and prototyping with minimal software requirements, making these e-paper monitors an exciting prospect for developers, makers, and users seeking a more productive, low-distraction secondary display.
[1] Source: Crowd Supply pre-order page for the Modos Paper Dev Kit.
The technological innovations continue to amaze as Modos Tech prepares to deliver smart-home-devices, the e-Paper Monitors for productivity users, which include the Modos Paper Dev Kit with fast refresh rates and responsive e-paper displays. These gadgets, equipped with advanced technology, aim to provide a more productive, eye-friendly, and distraction-free workspace.
