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HP flexible display uses 90% less materials, will be cheap to make
The era of handheld flexible displays just got a little closer when HP rolled out this prototype it developed with the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University. Said to be unbreakable, the plastic scrolling screens use HP's self-aligned imprint lithography (SAIL) technology, a low-cost process that's a whole lot like printing on a sheet of plastic.
What does this mean for us? The screen's simplified manufacturing processes will result in cheap but super-sharp and colorful flexible displays for a new generation of laptops, cell phones, and eventually, electronic newspapers like we saw in Minority Report. While this tech is in its infancy now, analysts say the market for such screens will grow to $2.8 billion by 2013.
Arizona State University, via AVing
By budgethero at 3:11 PM ON 12/10/08
awesome news. but i wonder how input would work.
kinda weird, the cycle of time. first scrolls, then books replace them completely. now scrolls might return.
By Lil Puppy at 2:00 AM ON 12/11/08
The scroll is only a technical demonstration, I can't imagine anyone actually using something like that.
But imagine opening your laptop and then unfolding your screen to 3 times it's size :)
Or take the scroll design but on a much larger scale, no longer needing a projector, just unroll your 120 inch screen from the ceiling.
By 5DOLLAHARBORMAN at 3:42 AM ON 12/11/08
Shame there ain't no vids of the screen actually in use.
By valereksic at 7:37 AM ON 12/11/08
How do we know that this isn't just a printed overhead transparency paper? It to me it doesn't look like it's emitting any light. It looks like there is a light at the bottom shining through an Transparency Print. I bet it's fake. Until I see a video, I won't believe it!!!
By timgenuity at 4:42 PM ON 12/11/08
The photo is a fake...probably a printed transparency.
If you read the HP press release (http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2008/081208b.html), HP and ASU are working on a flexible TFT backplane that works in concert with an E Ink display. This is very similar to the organic transistor technologies that Plastic Logic and Polymer Vision are developing to also pair with E Ink.
It appears that the real news is a technology that allows for better alignment of the various layers and TFT features during production of the backplane.
Despite the pretty picture, it appears that the first displays coming from this technology will be opaque, reflected light, "E Ink" type displays. :(
Based on the state of electronic paper and organic TFT (OTFT) devices, I agree we can expect "super-sharp" displays but don't hold your breath for "cheap" and "colorful".
By Levij83 at 7:42 PM ON 12/13/08
I dont think its a fake. Last year at CES i saw this but it was black and white. It worked quite well. It did need a backlight though.
By Klarth at 12:21 AM ON 12/29/08
Look, it's a Global from Earth:Final Conflict.
Never thought I'd see the day.
But yeah, I bet it's fake.
By timgenuity at 11:38 AM ON 01/30/09
In this story:
http://thefutureofthings.com/news/6245/hps-unbreakable-flexible-display.html?addComment
They show the actual prototype, which is an electrophoretic, reflected light (read, not transparent or translucent) E-Ink display:
http://64.202.120.86/upload/image/new-news/2009/january/hp-s-unbreakable-flexible-display/color-flexible-display-2_thumb.jpg
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