Flexible display technologies to provide new twist for computing

Flexible display technologies to provide new twist for computing: "July 03, 2006 (Computerworld) -- Over the next 10 years, thin-film polymers and other flexible substrates could change how people think about and use displays. In the future, you may 'print out' reports to sheets of e-paper: flexible polymer displays about as thick as a sheet of paper that can be spread out on a desk for easy comparison and analysis and then reused when the work is done. Your PDA or cell phone may incorporate a roll-up display that extends to let you view maps or Web pages on a larger screen. Your laptop may have a secondary display on the back of the case that can maintain any image you choose, such as your schedule and to-do list -- and you'll be able to refer to it even when the laptop is turned off. Some displays may be embedded on a shirt sleeve or curve around a watchband.
'We're talking about electronics we can wrap around a pencil,' says Jim Brug, imaging materials department manager at HP Laboratories. He says he expects such technologies to evolve into real product designs within five years.
While today's flexible display prototypes are relatively small, Hewlett-Packard Co. and many other companies are working on flexible screens that measure as large as 14 inches diagonally. But the goal is to complement current LCDs rather than provide a substitute for them. 'It's a mistake to think of this as a replacement for a [desktop or laptop] display,' says Brug. 'This is really a new way of using surfaces for information.' That might include interlocking flexible panels, like sheets of wallpaper, to create a single, wall-size screen, he says. "