E Ink pioneered the development of a display that unlike the LCD displays we see every day on computers and mobile phones, requires no backlight to operate. The E Ink display is also energy efficient and can be easily read in bright or dark environments. There are already several devices on the market using the E Ink display including the Amazon Kindle and the Sony eReader. Esquire Magazine will also use E Ink technology on the cover of an issue of its magazine.

A new, larger screen similar to the eReader and Kindle is on the drawing board right now according to the New York Times. The device has yet to be named, but is from a company called Plastic Logic. The Plastic Logic device is significantly larger than the Sony and Amazon products with a screen the size of a typical piece of paper that would be used in a printer or copy machine.

The larger screen size will allow for larger pages and full newspaper-like layouts. The digital delivery method is something that newspapers have wanted to move to for a long time thanks to the savings on printing and delivery costs. According to the New York Times, printing and deliver costs can add up to 65% of a newspapers fixed costs.

The Plastic Logic device will feature a wireless connection -- like the Amazon Kindle -- that will allow it to be updated anywhere a signal is available. It is unknown at this time if the device works on WiFi or has a built-in cellular modem of some sort like the Kindle.

Not many details are available on the Plastic Logic device at this time. Among the unknown are specifications, pricing and newspapers that will be offered on the device. The New York Times reports that the Plastic Logic device will be available early next year and full details as well as pricing will be made available at CES in January 2009.

It is also interesting to note that E Ink told the New York Times that it would have a production version of its display that will have the ability to show colors by 2010. The Plastic Logic device is also much thinner and weighs less than the Kindle, even though it has a screen twice as large. The device is able to get the weight and bulk savings by using plastic rather than glass in the screen.