Pioneer's Wearable Computer Jacket

i4u writes "Pioneer develops a wearable computer jacket with organic film electro-luminescent (OEL) display. On the photo, Kayoko Tanaka, a PR staff member of Pioneer, tries on a prototype of a wearable computer, a jacket with a built-in display in its sleeve in Tokyo Thursday, June 5, 2003. Pioneer works on this technology since 2001. I also found an article in the Taipei Times from 2001. Back in 2001, the jacket looked a bit fake compared to the one shown today. When the computer display jacket hits the market is unclear."

Comments

Frosty

[Malicious]

But does it work as a jacket?
1. Can you wear it in the rain?
2. Can you wear it to keep warm, in bitter cold temperatures?

Jackets should be functionality first, Gadgets second.

Re:Cool.

[zakezuke]

Exactly. Do we really need semi-conductors when tubes work just fine? Given the popularity of radio sets, the reduction in power consumption was most spiffy, let alone benifits of portable transister radios.

Logical applications:

1. Mobile phones. resolves the issue of wrist watch based trancievers being too bulky. [side note, would be spiffy if your jacket phone took off the shelf rechargable batteries] Mobile video phones as well.

2. Mobile media players. Portable media players, wether they be cassette, CD, or solid state digital are subject to being thrashed about on the body, bumping into things, and falling off.

3. Displays. thinner display could be the future to digital paper.

4. Portable computing. The artical doesn't cover input, to me it seems a rather nice alternative to lugging around a laptop.