Evaluating Electronic Ink Display Technology for Use in Drawing and Note Taking

Abstract

In recent years, electronic paper – a display technology known for its low power consumption and paper-like appearance has started emerging in several consumer products, replacing reading and writing on regular paper to some extent. In this paper, the capabilities of electronic ink technology is evaluated in the context of drawing and note taking. Our tests were done by letting test participants use two different tablet devices as replacements for daily activities that usually require pen and paper; the reMarkable, using an electronic ink display, and the Apple iPad, using an LCD screen. The results from the tests showed that for writing, the reMarkable was superior to the iPad, although insufficient when it comes to software and user experience. This shows that the nature of tasks performed throughout a day benefits from a less niched, more do-all device such as an iPad. In summary, the results from this evaluation shows that while the technology has come a long way mimicking the look and feel of paper, integrating electronic paper technology into a tablet in this case demands a little too much of the technology itself. Ultimately, electronic paper still has some way to go before being the go to paper replacement that has been long sought after.