time being E Ink is targeting Triton at signage markets. When will we finally see commercially viable color e-readers, then? "That's hard to say at the moment," he says. "In the lab we've got some really awesome looking products." In the meantime, he notes that there are some textbook trials being run in China, Taiwan, and Russia using color devices. "They're not looking for vivid colors or to run videos, they're looking for the traditional benefits of electronic paper -- low power consumption." Practical color e-paper is on the horizon, but it probably isn't close And color isn't E Ink's only Achilles' heel. Refresh rates have improved over the years (thanks largely due to changes in software controlling the panels, not the panel hardware itself, Peruvemba points out) but they still lag even poor-quality LCDs by miles. No matter how good the technology gets, e-paper will never replace LCDs in high-end, media-rich tablets, but E Ink doesn't worry too much about that: through mergers and acquisitions, the company has come to own Hydis, a Korean firm with a rich patent portfolio in LCD technology that's notably been licensed by Apple display suppliers AU Optronics and Sharp . Yes, that's right, E Ink makes money from both of its biggest competitors: old-school paper on one end of the spectrum, and high-end LCDs on the other. The bets have been fully hedged. Peruvemba is eager to talk about E Ink's other products from customers -- products that aren't e-readers, like a 300