Waiting for Flexible Displays and Flexible Devices
Reports appeared online Friday of a new 19-inch flexible display that LG hopes to start integrating into new devices.
Over the past year I've heard about numerous interesting advancements in the flexible display world. I've personally seen demos of fully flexible E Ink, the screen technology in the Kindle and Sony Reader. And there are also some interesting videos online of Sony's full color flexible OLED displays.
The Future of ePaper
The Elevator Pitch for the Future of ePaper
1. ePaper has been on the market for over a decade. Once seen as a fanciful scientific marvel, it has now proved its commercial viability in a variety of e-Book readers and other devices.
2. Whatever we may currently think of the prospects for dedicated e-Book readers, the market for ePaper clearly extends far beyond this invention. Its full utility remains to be explored, but the various applications are promising.
3. E Ink Corporation has become the dominant player in this market - most new announcements that relate to the use of ePaper technology relate to agreements with this corporation, an MIT Media Lab spin-off.
4. At the same time there is a lot of promising research heading out of other R+D labs that will extend the application of ePaper in unexpected and exciting ways. Based on current utilization, deals signed for pending products, and numerous prospects, my prognosis for ePaper is extremely positive.
Bendable Display Screens
Screens typically used on mobile phones, laptops and televisions have consistently become sharper and thinner and are changing the way we send and receive information. Now, a breakthrough in flexible display technology has demonstrated a screen that is as thin as a piece of paper and that can bend like one, too.
By using flexible components, a team at Arizona State University's Flexible Display Center (FDC) has announced the world's first "touchscreen" active matrix display on a flexible, glass-free substrate.