With an e-ink display, Android phone aims to offer a week of battery life

Taiwanese E Ink has developed a lightweight phone with a battery life of up to a week.

Technology fans may recall the YotaPhone, a dual-screen device unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) earlier this year, but it’s apparently not the only mobile device in the works that features an e-ink display. E-ink is the basis for one of the YotaPhone’s two screens, but MWC was also the backdrop for a demonstration of an e-ink-only Android phone by Taiwanese E Ink itself. Though it doesn’t yet appear to be mentioned on E Ink’s own site, the creator of e-ink technology used in devices like the Kindle has reportedly created and demonstrated an Android phone that relies upon it. Offering a full week of battery power under normal usage conditions – four weeks when on standby – the device weighs just 80g and provides superior readability, even in direct sunlight. No camera was included in the demo prototype, which had not even been named at the time, but unsubsidized pricing is expected to be in the vicinity of EUR 150, according to a Laptop Magazine report. Also on view from E Ink at MWC was a flexible e-ink display that could be incorporated into the back cover of more standard smartphones as a paid upgrade. The advantages of e-ink may not be enough to lure every consumer away from their full-color display, but the longer battery life may make it a compelling alternative for some. Mobile-minded entrepreneurs: one to get involved in? Spotted by: Raymond Neo