Philips Polymer Vision revealed its Concept Readius last week in Germany, a 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. Using a bi-stable electrophoretic display effect from E Ink Corp., the display is claimed to consume little power and to be easy to read, even in bright daylight. Once the user has finished reading, the display can be rolled back into the pocket-size (100 mm x 60 mm x 20 mm) device.

Based on Philips Polymer Vision's PV-QML5 rollable display reference design, the Readius was created in order to demonstrate the viability of the rollable-display concept in mobile applications and to gain customer feedback.

"Making displays thinner and flexible will have advantages in power and weight. But the only way to add the key advantage of size—allowing larger displays in smaller, pocket-size mobile devices—is by actually making the displays rollable," says Polymer Vision CEO Karl McGoldrick. "The Readius demonstrates this, as well as showing that we have taken this technology a major step further towards product and market."

Polymer Vision does not intend to commercialise this concept as a product in the market. Instead, it is demonstrating the fitness of its rollable displays for use in the mobile devices of tomorrow.