February 6, 2007, Rome, Italy and Eindhoven, The Netherlands--Telecom Italia and Polymer Vision will launch what they say is the world's first rollable-display-enabled mobile device, to be commercially launched in 2007.
The display will be unveiled at the 3GSM World Congress (Barcelona, Spain; February 12 to 16, 2007). The device is based on rollable polymer-display technology by Polymer Vision that enables mobile devices to incorporate a display larger than the handset itself, offering a readability similar to printed paper. The product follows up on a rollable-display concept device presented by Polymer Vision 18 months ago at the IFA Consumer Electronics Trade Fair (Berlin, Germany).
Although it is similar in size to a typical cell phone, the new device has a display which extends up to 5 in. and may be stored away after use by folding it. The display has 16 gray levels combined with high contrast and high reflectivity for a paperlike reading experience for comfortable reading in bright sunlight. Future developments include color and a moving-image capability.
Newspapers and books can be delivered and bought through the mobile network and stored in the devices's memory (which is slated to be at least 4 Gbytes in size). The device will permit instant access to personalized data, e-mail, news, information feeds, and location-sensitive maps. The inflow and outflow of data are made possible through a combination of cellular and broadcast mobile functionalities as well as a mini-USB slot for PC and wired/wireless broadband data connections.
Telecom Italia will market the device exclusively in Italy, while Polymer Vision will market it throughout the rest of the world.
Polymer Vision has partnered with E Ink (Cambridge, MA) on flexible-display technology and with Innos (Southampton, England) on manufacturing.