Folding device coming soon

Polymer Vision has announced that its first device with a rollable display will hit the market by the middle of this year.

The Readius will include the features people have become accustomed to in a high-end phone: tri-band GSM with HSDPA support, email, mp3 player, SD card slot, etc.

But it will also include something definitely not available on other phones: a 5-inch display flexible enough that it can be folded up, making the whole device roughly the size of a typical smartphone.

This screen uses technology that has been developed by Polymer Vision. This eInk-type display has several advantages -- it doesn't require a backlight, for example -- but has one significant drawback: no color. Instead it will offer 16 shades of grey.

This will not be a touchscreen. Instead, this phone will be controlled through 8 buttons. Exactly how this will work is not yet clear.

"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".

More Details on the Readius

Because of its unique display, Polymer Vision is emphasizing the Readius' usefulness as an ebook reader, but its feature list doesn't end there.

It will be able to get email from POP3 and IMAP accounts, and play MP3s. However, because of its slow screen refresh rate, it will not be able to play video.

To store ebooks and music files, the Readius will have an SD card slot with SDHC support, allowing it at least 8 GB of capacity.

What operating system this model will use has not yet be revealed, but it will run on a 400 MHz processor and include support for ActiveSync.

This smartphone will be 4.5 inches tall, 2.25 inches wide, and 0.8 inches thick (115mm x 57mm x 21mm). It will weigh 4 oz. (115g)

Because it doesn't need a backlight, this phone will allow users to read for at least 30 hours on a single charge.

Polymer Vision is not saying yet what the Readius will sell for.

More information is available on this company's web site.