New e-reader with mobile phone finally goes into production - UK

Polymer Vision's e-reader with mobile phone has finally gone into production after 10 years of research & development and more than two years after the prototype was demonstrated at a consumer electronics trade fair.

 

The Readius device which is due for commercial launch by mid 2008 exploits the versatility of rollable displays to merge the 'reading friendly' strengths of e-readers with the 'high mobility' features of mobile phones.

 

When closed it is about the size of a normal mobile phone and approximately one third the average weight of other e-readers. The battery life gives thirty hours of continuous reading which is up to six times longer than an ordinary mobile phone.

 

According to Polymer Vision, UK, the 3G HSDPA tri-band phone has the greatest coverage of any e-reader, allows worldwide calls and high speed instant updates from personally selected news sources, email and other services. Standard POP3 and IMAP is supported for ISP e-mail and others such as Yahoo!Mail, Google Gmail and Microsoft Exchange. The Micro SD High Capacity storage ensures quick and easy access to e-books and valuable information. It also features audio capabilities, including MP3, for podcasts, audio books and music.

 

"People are demanding greater choice and flexibility in having overall instant access to personal content and information" said Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision. "They do not want to be concerned with small screens, not being able to read in sunlight, a dead battery or a device being too bulky to carry in their pocket - Readius solves these worries and is generations ahead of anything else out there today".

 

The Readius will be on show at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 11th - 14th February 2008.

 

Also read earlier articles by IDTechEx Flexible Electrophoretic Displays from Polymer Vision and PVI and Polymer Vision Announces Cellular Book Alliance.

 

For more information on flexible displays and e-readers attend Printed Electronics Europe 2008.

 

Reference and source of image: Polymer Vision