ITRI folding TFT-EPD display could be in smartphones next year

December 5th, 2008 by Steve

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan has developed a flexible display which allows a smartphone’s screen to double to five inches. This makes the display comparable to many netbooks and other portable gadgets.

The demonstration device is branded the “Nokia Communicator” and comprises an editing keyboard (lower half) and a wide format display (upper half). But what the user sees is only the top half of the screen — the rest is hiding behind the keyboard and can be pulled out, if desired, to double the screen real estate.

The pictures seem to indicate that the screen is interrupted in the middle — as if two independent screens have been used but this is not the case. The grey line simply marks the “task border” which can be shifted up and down the display as the user prefers.

ITRI has partnered with Pilot Fish to produce this demonstrator and is now seeking world-wide manufacturers to adopt the new technology which they say will be ready in a year.

I’d love to see touchscreen phone manufacturers start to use this. Imagine an iPhone that can be pulled out to three times it’s original size — it would make web surfing on it almost bareable!