seriouslyuguys wrote:

The Readius is the world’s first prototype of a functional electronic-document reader that can unroll its display to a scale larger than the device itself. With four gray levels, the monochrome, 5-inch QVGA (320 pixels x 240 pixels) display provides paper-like viewing comfort with a high contrast ratio for reading-intensive applications, including text, graphics, and electronic maps.

This concept made the cover of a Scientific American recently. Of course, then it was a full-color, 9 X 12, rolled-up parchment type thing. Eithe way, I honestly wonder how much utility can be gained from such a flimsy device. For one, it takes two hands to hold it which means you can't write email or take notes and, despite this, it will still [necessarily] be priced and marketed to business travelers. Hopefully, they will aspire eventually to make it cheap enough for regular people doing their reading on the go.

-janelane, scientifically

janelane wrote:

This concept made the cover of a Scientific American recently. Of course, then it was a full-color, 9 X 12, rolled-up parchment type thing. Eithe way, I honestly wonder how much utility can be gained from such a flimsy device. For one, it takes two hands to hold it which means you can't write email or take notes and, despite this, it will still [necessarily] be priced and marketed to business travelers. Hopefully, they will aspire eventually to make it cheap enough for regular people doing their reading on the go.

-janelane, scientifically

The interesting thing about this is that there is a working prototype. Also 'e-ink' displays use very little power to maintain a static image because they can draw the image and turn off power to the display, unlike lcd where power must be maintained to preserve the image. 'e-ink' is also high contrast, so it looks nice even in bad lighting. While this particular device looks a bit boring, I think it can open the door to really nice portable displays.