Sony recently unveiled their latest electronic feat at the 49th SID International Symposium, Seminar & Exhibition (SID 2011), a paper thin e-reader — or e-paper — so flexible, it can be bent around a tiny radius of 5 mm. The e-paper is just a proof of concept at the moment and, like some current e-readers, is only in greyscale. Apparently some onlookers at SID 2011 were so excited about this bendy reader that they let out a cheer during a demonstration of how it rolls.
-
-
-
-
The Japanese company’s e-paper — which is yet to be named — is about 13 inches long and uses Sony’s electrophoretic front plane laminate. The e-paper has a 150 ppi resolution and seems like more of a reality since Sony last let out a squeak about their paper thin e-readers. The last flexible e-reader was pretty tiny — about four inches wide — and the one before that didn’t even bend correctly.
This is an exciting development even if Sony isn’t making any announcements about when, where and how they are going to turn this flexible invention into a ready-to-buy product. The e-readers on the market now are using up a whole lot of rare earth resources to make their clunky frames churn out novels at the rate desired by the public. With these flexible e-readers on the horizon we can look forward to reading in style without killing trees or causing destruction by mining for difficult to find minerals.
Via Engadget
Photos from TechOn
[...] Future Of Green Transportation – Ecofriend 12 Most Striking Human-powered Vehicles – Ecofriend Sony Unveils Flexible E-Paper, it Bends Around a Pencil | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the Wor… Clever Pickmaster Plectrum Punch Turns Credit Cards Into Guitar Picks | Inhabitat – Green Design [...]