PocketBook recently started selling E Ink “InkPosters” from their Amazon store alongside their ereaders, with prices that could only seem reasonable to the ultra wealthy.
They’re selling two different models. The 28.5″ InkPoster costs $2,399 and the 31.5″ InkPoster costs $,1699. I still haven’t figured out why the smaller one is more expensive, but there’s probably a good reason buried in marketing speak somewhere.
I remember E Ink demoing E Ink posters at a trade show earlier this year, but they come up with all kinds of crazy products that never hit the market (do you remember the color-changing E Ink dress?). It’s surprising to see PocketBook of all companies jumping on the bandwagon to sell these. It looks like they started a spin-off company called InkPoster. The InkPoster website says they are designed by PocketBook.
PocketBook has been selling ereaders for a long time, and that’s the only kind of products I’ve ever seen them selling, so this is kind of an unexpected twist.
The InkPosters use E Ink Spectra 6 displays, which have better color quality than the Kaleido screens that come on ereaders. They claim that InkPosters have a 1-year battery life with the built-in 25,000 mAh battery. There’s an app you can use to change the images that appear on the poster.
Here’s a quote from the InkPoster website:
We’ve designed InkPoster to bring you the joy of exploring thousands of masterpieces and artistic expressions from every era, adaptable to your unique style, mood, or occasion. The InkPoster App offers an exclusive selection of wall art, curated by a team of art advisors, ensuring that each selection embodies both style and sophistication. Our purpose is to make self-expression through art effortless, allowing people to create atmospheres that reflect who they are, moment by moment.
InkPoster embodies a commitment to sustainable elegance, combining health-conscious E Ink technology with an innovative display that protects both the eyes and the environment. Our displays emit no Blue Light or heat, seamlessly blending health-consciousness and sustainability. Each InkPoster is a testament to mindful design, showcasing a vision of art that is as respectful to living and working environments as it is inspiring to the viewer.
Aside from the insane price, I can’t believe they’re using the blue-light-is-evil angle to help sell these. Who knew that blue light emitting posters were such a big threat to people’s health?
The slightly smaller one uses a little better/brighter display technology, the Sharp Izgo version.
https://www.eink.com/news/detail/E-Ink-Spectra-6-and-IGZO-Technology-Enable-Sharp-Next-Generation-Color-ePoster
To add on to what Jough wrote, it is my understanding that some of the new e-paper technologies will have a lower pixel resolution in larger size displays. So the larger 31.5″ screen may not have as many pixels-per-inch than the 28.5″ display.
They’ probably want to sell them to corporate customers so the price doesn’t have to make sense 😀
I bought and returned a 31.5″ InkPoster in October. Liked the hardware. The software was not functional and the customer support was useless. Had problems getting it connected to my home wifi (which has Alexas and Google Home and lots of smart things connected no problem) but despite useless advice from InkPoster customer support I persevered and used the hotspot on my phone and the InkPoster app on an old phone to get the frame set up and then transferred to my wifi.
However, the Android app does not allow you to transfer custom hires images to the frame. The user guide recommends PNG files — “We recommend using pictures in PNG, 8-bit format, with a resolution that matches the screen size for each model” (page 25) — but when I contacted customer support to ask how to transfer such a file, they didn’t give instructions but rather asked for a sample file. I provided one, they said they got it to work, I asked, again, for instructions, they said PNG files were only a recommendation, I asked for step-by-step instructions on getting any custom hires image to my frame, and they finally admitted that their Android app can’t do that yet.
Their US brand manager told me their Android app would not be completed anytime soon and initiated a return.
I do not recommend InkPoster.