Slashdot Mirror
Sony Debuts Razor-Thin Flexible Display
Mike writes "Sony Corporation has put online a video of their new flexible 2.5 inch display. The display can be bent in half, is full color, and is apparently relatively inexpensive to make. This could be used in hundreds of cool new products, as well as enhancing thousands of existing products. In fact, it's hard to see where this kind of display wouldn't be used, especially in portable consumer electronics. 'The display combines Sony's organic thin film transistor, or TFT, technology, which is required to make flexible displays, with another kind of technology called organic electroluminescent display, it said. The latter technology is not as widespread for gadgets as the two main display technologies now on the market - liquid crystal displays and plasma display panels. Although flat-panel TVs are getting slimmer, a display that's so thin it bends in a human hand marks a breakthrough ... "In the future, it could get wrapped around a lamppost or a person's wrist, even worn as clothing," said Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa. "Perhaps it can be put up like wallpaper."'"
What are those lines on the display? (see picture in article).
If this is a PR thing for Sony, that's a REALLY bad 1st impression.
"In the future, it could get wrapped around a lamppost or a person's wrist, even worn as clothing," said Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa. "Perhaps it can be put up like wallpaper."'"
He's right. I've watched plenty of sci-fi series, and people there are crazy like that. They won't blink and wear their screen as clothing! Insane I tell you.
...will it explode like other Sony products? The fear of that in itself will cause me to wait for the second generation product.
Software and Games for Wii's Opera Browser
"Mum, the living room wall has got a dead pixel!"
So we can expect it to be ready in about five years?
Extreme Programming - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Developers
Is more along the lines of what he's thinking. Not that it isn't a technically cool accomplishment.
Slashdot Patriotism: We Support our Dupes!
..someone introduces a display that is as thin as three razors?
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
YouTube has a video demonstration of Sony's technology from Japan at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7QbQugXy1A
It could well be a revolutionary technology in the display market in many years! With displays able to bend, all possibilities open up in gadgets and even laptop markets with smaller and more capable display units.
The World + dog are announcing displays like this; especially digital paper products. It seems mostly to be premature announcements. Maybe they're trying to freak out the competition ala 'vaporware'.
"Vaporware is a software or hardware product which is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge, either with or without a protracted development cycle. The term implies unwarranted optimism, or sometimes even deception; that is, it may imply that the announcer knows that product development is in too early a stage to support responsible statements about its completion date, feature set, or even feasibility." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware
"sometimes even deception" indeed.
is it just me, or is this really familliar to the e-paper that LG & Philips developed recently? http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/ 14/0410247
only this time there's a lot more buzz
The future is here.
Every surface can be turned into an advert. Animated no less.
Deleted
Imagine a sheet like this, transparent and plastered on the windshield or in a corner of one. Then it's fed from a GPS computer for map information right in front of you. This would make GPS navigation a little safer.
Add in some of the "Object detection" systems they've been pawning off for a few years and we're talking about a nice feature for the future of cars.
Fighter Jets as well as commercial airliners can make use of this technology as well.
There's a million uses other then the silly and mundane.
R&D through several companies started in 1996. The tech name is flexible OLED.
A history of which can be found here http://www.oled-info.com/history/
ceci n'est pas un sig
Vaporware or not, what comes to mind after the initial neat-o factor is that the flexibility of this stuff could make for an interesting home theatre set up. Anyone remember those 180 or 360 degree theaters? Not IMAX, but the inside-of-a-dome-as-movie-screen thing. There was a motion sickness factor, but I'm thinking there'd be some cool applications as far as movies where you don't get to watch all the action at once, or maybe depending on which side you're viewing, you may miss something important, etc...
Then there's always gaming, etc...
The video and press images feature both rows and colums that have gone wonky -- clearly (A) the tech isn't quite ready for prime time (heh), and (B) you wouldn't want to bend it all the time, for fear of fatiguing the printed parallel cables that feed/drive it.
FTA: "Sony Corporation posted video of the new 2.5 inch display on its' web page. In the video, a hand squeezes the 0.3 millimetre (0.01 inch)-thick display, which shows color video of a bicyclist stuntman, a picturesque lake and other images."
I looked all over... where is the video? Can anyone find a link to the video? I'd like to see this thing in action...
- Spryguy
There are three kinds of people in this world: those that can count and those that can't
i wanna cover my walls, ceiling and floors in oled displays! dynamic environment! battle bridge! fuck a imax! the possibilities are endless! (until they end of course)
Balderdash!
Awesome. I've been waiting years for a vorpal monitor.
They also mention using electroluminescent material in some way too - although it's not made clear how. I actually think that electroluminescent material is pretty cool myself, but (I think) there are two main problems with it - one, it requires really high voltages (but doesn't use much power), and it has a fairly limited lifespan. Maybe Sony figures that this isn't important in small gadgets, but the high voltage issue could make designs problematic.
lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
...now just make sure the end product isn't powered by batteries made by the same company, and it's all set to go.
"Mum, theres a *huge* hairy hole in the living room wall..."
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
Yet another technology demo that won't actually be in a real product for years.
Same with ink-on-paper displays. Plenty of prototypes exist but for some reason no-one seems able to or wants to make an actual device you can buy.
I mean, these flexible organic displays have been around for years now, some even in use on cheap cameras and cel phones.
"In the future, it could get wrapped around a lamppost or a person's wrist, even worn as clothing," said Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa. "Perhaps it can be put up like wallpaper."'"
They just NOW thought of this?!
Remember when Sony used to be *ahead* of everyone else?
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
The other guy who mentioned rootkits got labeled "troll". All I get is "flamebait".
I soooo wanted to be a troll... sigh
But... does it only show a movie if it is Blu-ray? ---- Evil wombat was here
Until we get six-way foldouts like the laptops the students in Stellvia got assigned, this won't impress me.
What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
"even worn as clothing"
1. You could design your own clothing
2. You could share your clothing designs with others (Creative Commons clothing?)
3. Sony will release designer styles with clothing DRM.
4. Someone will break the DRM, but no one will want the overpriced designs to begin with. The FCC and MAFIAA will get involved somehow.
5. Microsoft will release MS Tailor, but it will be bloated and all the geeks will use OpenWardrobe.Org.
6. School uniforms will be made available as a firmware upgrade.
7. I will have a shirt that randomly rotates through the designs on T-Shirt Hell.
I'm pretty sure the expression is either "Paper thin" or "Razor sharp".
No sig today...
Is that Razor-thin or Razr thin? I'm getting confused with these Slashdot measurements..
fit the HDMI connector on a screen that size?
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
Now that we have a screen technology that can be read from any angle (=180 degrees), we only need something to prevent... that very same thing, so that no-one can read your SMS's behind your shoulder in a public location.
It's Sony, of course it will install a rootkit on your computer, and the EULA will say that use of this stuff on anything will confer ownership of whatever it is applied to to Sony. Like that video wallpaper? Your house is now owned by Sony. :-)
2001: A Space Odyssey was originally shot in something called Cinerama that was a projected on a deep concave sceen.
You may be thinking about this or Super Panavision, a later descendant technology.The tech name is flexible OLED.
Great. Folded FOLED. We'll *never* typo that one.
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
Wow I mean really is it this thin what will they think of next people. I thought I saw something at Bungalow 8 several years ago if I am not mistaken. I think they have their own website too as well. really cool way of advertising don't ya think. personally I think so