Polymer Vision, originally a spin-off of Philips, has shown its next-generation six-inch rollable e-paper. The new working sample is designed to last 25 thousand uses. Its flexibility permits it to be rolled around a dime without being damaged. At six-inches, its resolution is 800x600, which makes it feasible for use in current mobile devices.
Polymer Vision returned from nearly going defunct on Friday and showed a concept for the spiritual successor to its short-lived Readius. The new device would embrace the folding display technology but apply it to a phone with a color screen. Along with a clamshell shape that would hide a tablet-sized screen, it would even have a second option to expand to a larger size, Digital Reader heard.
Polymer Vision this afternoon revealed that it has begun producing the Readius, a device billed as the world's first phone with a foldable display. Even more advanced than Amazon's Kindle, the device uses a 5-inch e-paper display that not only replicates the sharpness of ink but tucks into the main body, creating a much smaller profile than any e-book reader. It also serves as a full-fledged phone: thanks to tri-band HSDPA, the Readius can make calls and connect to the Internet in the US and most other 3G-capable areas of the world. This allows live RSS reading as well as e-mail and other real-time information.
