Are there large format e-ink readers?

A reader, Beau, asks, “I've wondered if now that (Amazon.com founder) Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post if there's any news of a larger Paperwhite e-reader in the works?

The ultimate for me would be something roughly the thickness and size of a large laminated one-page restaurant menu, but we're apparently not there yet, so something with a Paperwhite screen as big as the largest tablet would be great.”

The closest thing to what Beau describes might be the Amazon Kindle DX, an e-reader with a 9.7-inch screen. It's listed on Amazon for $199 as of Dec. 31. Unfortunately, it doesn't include a built-in light as the Kindle Paperwhite does.

Sony and other companies have worked on larger-format e-book readers, but they've generally been costly and have not competed well against the smaller Kindle-sized readers or non-e-ink tablets like the iPad.

There's still development being done on paper-thin flexible displays, but as with lots of technology, it's been slow to arrive in consumer products you can actually buy today.