Flexible Displays About To Hit The Market

LG flexible prototype

I like my iPad for certain tasks, an iPhone for other tasks and a full widescreen monitor hooked up to a desktop machine for yet others. The big difference between these devices is the methods of input and output. Some are touch screens and some use a keyboard and mouse. Some have a large display and others have medium or small.

In the not too distant future we will have many more combinations of inputs and outputs. They will run the gamut from glasses based augmented reality displays, to wall sized, floor-to-ceiling monster displays. For a while I thought these would connect up with our portable computers (what smartphones evolve into) but now I realize that the cost of computer technology is dropping so fast there is no reason to embed processors into every gadget we have. With high speed Internet connections, everything will be part of the cloud and follow you around during the day.

So, speaking of display technology I have been watching for flexible displays to enter the market. Well, it looks like that time is now. (or rather, next month). LG says they are getting read to launch a product. Of course, this technology is still primitive compared to what it will be in a few more years but it’s exciting that it’s ready for commercial use!

• LG unveils flexible plastic e-paper display, aims for European launch next month — Engadget

  • LG has made no secret of its fondness for flexible e-paper, but those dreams became a reality today, with the announcement of a six-inch display that promises to “revolutionize the e-book market.” The malleable plastic display sports a resolution of 1024 x 768 and can bend at an angle of up to 40 degrees. At just 0.7 millimeters thick, it’s about one-third thinner than similarly-specced glass displays, and weighs in at 14 grams — about half the weight of its glassy competition.

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