A Dutch company, Polymer
Vision, announced that Readius, its foldable phone, will be ready
for commercial launch by mid-2008. The Readius is a pocket sized device
which combines a large 5 inch rollable display with 3G high speed
connectivity for true mobility and instant access to personalized news
and information.
Based on the same flexible e-paper technology
as Amazon’s Kindle, Readius exploits the versatility of rollable
displays to merge the ‘reading friendly’ strengths of e-readers with
the ‘high mobility’ features of mobile phones.
Weighing only
115g, Readius offers twice the surface area of the largest phone
display existent at the moment but it is equal to an average mobile
phone when closed (115 x 57 x 21mm). The device is powered by a
powerful processing engine (ARM11 400MHz).
“People are demanding
greater choice and flexibility in having overall instant access to
personal content and information” said Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer
Vision. “They do not want to be concerned with small screens, not being
able to read in sunlight, a dead battery or a device being too bulky to
carry in their pocket. Readius solves these worries and is generations
ahead of anything else out there today”.
A rollable display can
be split up in 3 key elements: the front plane - creating the image to
the user; the back plane - the electronics managing the image on the
front plane; and the outer substrates - used to support and protect the
front and back planes.
