For quite some time I've been poking at the idea of building an
e-ink/e-paper display for "typical" computers (e.g. desktops) but there
are a lot of technical problems and compromises involved.

1.) The first problem is "refresh rate" and all of the existing
e-ink/e-paper components still suck when compared to other display
technologies (LCD, CRT, ...). This means anything requiring a fast
redraw (pointer movement, games, video, ...) will look like crap on
e-ink/e-paper.

2.) The second problem is color depth. The majority of "color"
e-ink/e-paper components can only do 4-bit (16 colors) to 8-bit (256
colors). Your average modern LCD/CRT typically does 24-bit color (16
Million Colors) but some specialized displays can handle even more
(32-bit color -- 4.3 Billion colors). At the moment, the very best color
e-ink/e-paper displays/components can do 12-bit color (4096 colors), and
it is adequate for a lot of uses, but it still makes high-color images a
bit goofy.

3.) The third problem is physical size. The majority of e-ink/e-paper
displays are fairly small (according to my personal tastes) and are
typically no bigger than a 14 inch diagonal. Some people like small,
somewhat portable displays, but I hate them. The only 14" display I own
is part of a dumb terminal. There is only one 21 inch diagonal
e-ink/e-paper display that I know of (out side of prototypes in various
company labs) but ordering one is painful.

4.) The fourth problem is resolution. As you probably know from all the
mindless squawking around the new iPad 3 "Retina" display, high
resolution displays/components are highly desirable. The new(ish)ly
prevalent television/video/image standards of 1080P (1920x1080) and 720P
(1280x720) make high resolution an important factor. The very best color
e-ink/e-paper display in production can barely do the latter (it does
1280x960 on 21").

The primary "selling point" of e-ink/e-paper is now (and has always
been) power consumption, and hence, battery life. If used as a typical
computer display (running on wall current), battery life is a non-issue.

The most interesting "selling point" of e-ink/e-paper is the advantages
it provides to people with vision impairments. The human eye evolved to
see light reflected from objects, not stare at the sun, and all display
tech besides e-ink/e-paper is equivalent to staring at the sun. People
who have trouble with various forms of eye strain or light sensitivity
are always better off with e-ink/e-paper. Even people with no vision
impairments often prefer e-ink/e-paper to LCD/CRT.

An example product using the mentioned 21 inch e-ink/e-paper display is
here, but buying one from Delta is a real pain in the ass (I tried last
year):

http://www.delta.com.tw/product/rd/epaper/product/product_de...

http://www.delta.com.tw/product/rd/epaper/index.asp

The display component itself is called AeroBee and is built by
Bridgestone Corporation:

http://www.delta.com.tw/press/press_detail.asp?sid=1&id=...

Also, Vivitek seems to have a product based on AeroBee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiVB06ZPt_U

EDIT: It seems I stand corrected; Delta plans to release a 40" e-paper
display in 2012.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111102PD209.html