First Phone with Rollable Display Coming Soon

When talking about smartphones and handhelds, "smaller and more pocketable" has usually meant that the device in question has an unusable size display or compromised user controls.

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Telecom Italia and Polymer Vision plan to address this by releasing a new phone with a 5-inch rollable eInk display. Because the display can be rolled up, the device itself will be no larger than a typical cell phone.

Featuring a 16-grayscale screen, this model -- which is being referred to now as a "Cellular Book" -- will function similarly to many smartphones and high-end feature phones by having the ability to go online and download content into its internal 4 GB hard drive. In addition, music and audio books/podcasts are supported.

This model will be controlled through a touch-sensitive LED interface and some simple software.

The Cellular Book will also have cellular (EDGE/UMTS) and broadcast (DVB-H IP data-casting) wireless access -- making it suitable for Cingular and T-Mobile in the U.S.

No prices were announced for the Cellular Book, but it will be demoed at the 3GSM World Conference, and for sale in Italy later this year.

For more information, visit the Polymer Vision web site.

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