Polymer Vision announces rollable displays are in production

We've been looking at wacky prototypes of rollable displays for so long that it's hard to believe they could ever get real. Polymer Vision, a Philips spin out, has just announced that it has its production facilities up and running and its first rollable displays have made it off the assembly line. And they're not leaving it at that. Polymer Vision's first product, the 3G-enabled Readius, is supposed to be available before the end of the year. That doesn't give them much time to slap the rest of the parts together, but hopefully the Readius can be giving Kindle some competition before we get too terribly accustomed to its DRM-ed ways.

[quomen @ Dec 14th 2007 5:59PM]

Someone please tell me that ugly fold won't be there.
Oh well, progress is progress.

[Shawn @ Dec 14th 2007 6:01PM]

Earth: Final Conflict here we come!

[yanks86 @ Dec 14th 2007 8:04PM]

HAHA, I didn't notice it, but they really do look like the E:FC communicators

[Garst @ Dec 15th 2007 4:11AM]

I wanted to say that, but they do need to have video conference on the phones to truely do that.

[Bombaclaat @ Dec 17th 2007 5:56PM]

just about to say that. lol.

[bjrcboy @ Dec 14th 2007 6:08PM]

When they say rollable, I imagine rolling the display up like a poster. THis is just a foldable display from the looks of it... Folds around the black box thing.

[Eddie @ Dec 14th 2007 6:09PM]

I for welcome our bendable robotic...

Wait, Bender, is that you? You look so different in real life, so... bendy!

[Richard @ Dec 14th 2007 6:18PM]

I don't know how many people I speak for, but I hate that joke and all incarnations of it.

:'(

[Jon Doe @ Dec 14th 2007 7:06PM]

You definitely speak for me. I wish we could load up all the: I for one welcome, will it blend, and will it play doom comments and launch them into the sun.

[Eddie @ Dec 14th 2007 7:24PM]

Wow way to be nosy bastards. If you don't like it, don't read it. Vote it down, I don't care. I hope you two feel a lot more important, do you want cookies?

Oh no, wait maybe you wanted

omg you fkn suck i will pwn you ha ha ha nw i will go cry in2 my room

[monkfishbandana @ Dec 15th 2007 7:34AM]

Answer time!

1) I took the liberty of looking up 'nosy' for you. Get a better grasp of the English language. http://www.answers.com/topic/nosy

2) Duly noted. Voted down.

3) I do.

4) I do.

5) I do not.

6) You will go and cry 'into' your room? Good luck.

[Blake Bowen @ Dec 14th 2007 6:14PM]

hmm, I really hope you can't see the folds when the display is extended.

[Jake Tobak @ Dec 14th 2007 6:20PM]

That audio section seems interesting.

[Matthew Hilario @ Dec 14th 2007 6:27PM]

didn't taiwan do this? flexible lcd? is this one thinner than 1cm?
cheers! no more cracked screens!

[Paul Barwick @ Dec 14th 2007 6:38PM]

Good. I don't have to break myself of bending a page over to keep my place when I switch from paper books.

[quadrent @ Dec 14th 2007 6:49PM]

Nice, there server sucks, and is to busy to load.

[Wwhat @ Dec 15th 2007 7:05AM]

their*
(corrected for educational purposes)

[Ben @ Dec 14th 2007 7:39PM]

erm its mono............wow................mono

dfgdfghdghztjskiljjlkl/lll (sorry keyboard sarcasm overload!!!!)
and eegherrm backlight

16.7 mil colors and a half decent refresh rate and I'll reach for
my wallet but untill then perhaps a few comercial applications but thats it really!!!!!

Nice first try gents, hope you sell enough to pay for some more R&D, resulting in a more usable
Product!!!

[Gregg @ Dec 14th 2007 10:20PM]

Foldable is nice, but I would settle for Sony's PRS-505 being readily available outside of USA.

Hear that Sony? PEOPLE WANT TO GIVE YOU MONIES!

[Garst @ Dec 15th 2007 4:21AM]

I don't! I demand something in return for my monies! (Is that a real word?) But I've seen Sony screw people over too many times to really want to exchange my monies for its products. Plus, Sony's products tend to be a tad overpriced, although some are more so than others. *coughPS3cough* But a lot are arguably priced right.

[Andrew @ Dec 15th 2007 12:27AM]

My heart just skipped a beat. That's tight as hell.

[Magnulus @ Dec 15th 2007 7:23AM]

I really like the machine in itself, but the resolution, last time I checked, was 320x240 and that's just not enough for me. No, I'd rather get a Cybook any day of the week at this rate.

[monkfishbandana @ Dec 15th 2007 7:29AM]

Answer time!

1) I took the liberty of looking up 'nosy' for you. Get a better grasp of the English language. http://www.answers.com/topic/nosy

2) Duly noted. Voted down.

3) I do.

4) I do.

5) I do not.

6) You will go and cry 'into' your room? Good luck.

[Eddie @ Dec 16th 2007 1:47AM]

Because I'm sure a man of your intelligence would never need a guide on using a lowly blog comment reply system ( http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/18/welcome-to-the-new-engadget/ ), please report the site's malfunction using the following link:

http://www.engadget.com/contact/problems/

[Kurian @ Dec 15th 2007 10:11AM]

Wont it get damaged? No matter what its made of, creases are creases!

[kuthippie @ Dec 17th 2007 1:46PM]

"240 x 320 (quarter VGA - 4.8") @ 50 Hz"

guess it's really a screen, but is it really rollable in stead of foldable?

[chiefj @ Jan 7th 2008 12:52PM]

If you go to their website you will see the new roll out display

http://www.polymervision.com/ProductsApplications/Enterprise/Index.html

They also have a windows video.