Nearly all e-lectronic-book readers(ereaders)use the same screen technology. It consumes very little power but cannot display colour images or video. But new types of screen are emerging that will combine long battery life with support for vibrant colour and the ability to display video.

Also in this Technology Quarterly report:

Monitor: Armies go green, a new glue for broken bones, a battery inspired by electric eels, the technology of ink, paying for your own fibre link, texting in Asian languages, better ways to collaborate online, and who
won our innovation awards

Rational consumer: Powering the drive - Buyers of electric cars grapple with Œrange anxiety

New displays for e-readers: Read all about it - Screen technologies that are both low-power and full-colour

Inside story: Nuclear's next generation - Novel reactor designs to meet the needs of the 21st century

Agricultural robots: Fields of automation - How robotic innovation down on the farm is bearing fruit

Biomedicine: Son et lumière in the hospital - Non-invasive
surgical techniques based on sound and light

Brain scan: Beyond the ether - A profile of Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet