Dutch Co. Launches Phone with Foldable Screen

Dutch company Polymer Vision, a spinout from Philips, has incorporated a display twice the size of today's largest mobile phone screens in a device no bigger than the average handset – by allowing the screen to be folded up when not in use.

The USP of the 5-inch display of Polymer Vision's 'Readius' is that it folds out when the user wants to read news, blogs or email and folds back together so that the device can fit into a pocket. The device is expected to be ready for commercial launch by mid-2008.

Readius exploits the versatility of rollable displays to merge the reader-friendly strengths of e-readers with the high-mobility features of mobile phones. Together with the Readius Internet portal, designed for personalisation and content selection, the company offers a whole new mobile phone category.

"People are demanding greater choice and flexibility in having 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."

Readius claims to last for 30 hours of continuous reading without battery charge. The 3G HSDPA tri-band phone 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.

Micro SD high capacity storage ensures quick and easy access to e-books and valuable data. Readius also features audio capabilities, including MP3, for podcasts, audio books and music.