Fujitsu is possibly on the way to launching the first e-paper in colour. The prototype was displayed in the Publishing Expo in London today.

However, the e-paper is unlikely to be launched until late 2008. There are other e-paper technologies too but they are all in monochrome which according to Mike Nelson, GM of Fujitsu in Europe, is much easier than colour. “Colour requires a completely different starting point,” he says.

The e-paper presently displays 4096 colours but is expected to be in full colour one day. Best of all for a portable device is the battery life. Fujitsu’s e-paper can be refreshed every two seconds for more than a year on the charge from one AAA battery. When the page is not being refreshed, the image stays on the screen without draining battery life. How long for? Fujitsu don’t know.

Fujitsu are considering plenty of potential uses for the technology: smart cards that display your remaining credit, e-books, PDAs, mobile phones,watches and adverts could all use e-paper in the future.