Originally Posted by Twistys Tim

The Economist did a big article about the Kindle, and other alternatives -- but the online link to it is premium content.

The cliff notes of the article is as such; there will shortly be a breakthrough in non LCD colour displays, which will use hardly any battery. The devices will have connectivity, and so in turn -- the will become a book / magazine. The colour display has taken it's inspiration from the skin of an octopus -- where three tiny different colour beads (and black) are stored in a cluster, and are rotated to create a larger picture. The beauty of this system is, that once they are rotated, no power is need to keep the picture -- so as you read a page no battery power is used, only when you turn the page and the bead rotate to make up the next page is energy consumed.