The Foldable Readius Ereader Is Dead

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Foldable Readius Ereader Is Dead

Posted by Unknown on Sunday December 2, 2012 @02:58PM from the cool-gadgets-you'll-never-own dept.

Nate the greatest writes "One of the stranger ereader/smartphone hybrid devices ever to grace the pages of a tech blog is now officially never dead. Polymer Vision, creator of the Readius ereader, has been shut down by its parent company. This company launched in 2004 with the goal of bring an ereader with a foldable 5" E-ink screen to market. They shipped an initial production run of about 100 thousand units before going bankrupt in 2009. Wistron bought the company out of receivership and has been paying to develop the screen tech. PV has made a number of prototypes over the past few years, but they never made it out of the lab. The closest we came to ever seeing one was a render of a smartphone design which could expand to the size of a tablet."

42 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 14:59 · Score: -1, Flamebait

What is the newsworthiness of this crap, there are at least 400 better stories in the queue.
1. Re:Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 15:03 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Well according to Netcraft, Slashdot "is now officially never dead" just like this eReader. Of course, the eReader "launched in 2004 with the goal of bring an ereader with a foldable 5" E-ink screen to market". I guess the submitter (or worse the editor) doesn't know the word "bringing". But who cares, since they are never dead... Yeah, the summary is a turd.
2. Re:Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 15:08 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  the summary is a turd.
  But hey, at least it's not a giant douche!
3. Re:Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by mug+funky · 2012-12-02 15:29 · Score: 0
  
  well get modding then, idiot!
4. Re:Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 18:38 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  You won't get any sensible discussion here.
  Around 2007, Microsoft realised tech sites like Slashdot had a significant involvement in the very public rejection of Vista as a replacement for XP. They hired several reputation management companies, including Waggener Edstrom and Burson Marsteller to manage their online presence before the W7 release.
  One of the results of that was that the reputation mangers ran hundreds of sock-puppets in blogs and news aggregators, like Slashdot and Reddit. They swamped the discussions, including those unrelated to their OS with scripted comments based on a few themes - "Have you tried it yet?" "Much faster than XP" etc etc. There was no opportunity to discuss Linux/FOSS or any other non-proprietary effort without wading through dozens of highly moderated pro-Win 7 postings. Pretty much every first post was a Microsoft-favorable pamphlet.
  The result was that almost anyone with a real interest in tech abandoned the site. There are still a few of the old die-hards here, but it's mostly marketers and sock-puppets now.
5. Re:Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by Taco+Cowboy · 2012-12-02 19:34 · Score: 1
  
  The result was that almost anyone with a real interest in tech abandoned the site. There are still a few of the old die-hards here, but it's mostly marketers and sock-puppets now.
  
  Sad, but very, very true !
  I too, am about to abandon this site.
  Slashdot has become more and more irrelevant.
  I came to Slashdot because I got to learn so many NEW and USEFUL stuffs.
  No more.
  
  --
  Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
6. Re:Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by serviscope_minor · 2012-12-03 00:11 · Score: 2
  
  I came to Slashdot because I got to learn so many NEW and USEFUL stuffs.
  The stuff on slashdot is generally quite new. It's not necessary to know all news within 20 minutes of it happening. The stuff ehre is also pretty useful. But the most important thing is that I don't know of any other site where the comments are as good. Perhaps that's a low bar, but nothing seems to clear it.
  No more.
  bye bye.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
7. Re:Is this slashdot, or fuckedcompany.com? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-03 05:00 · Score: 0
  
  You won't get any sensible discussion here.
  Around 2007, Microsoft realised tech sites like Slashdot had a significant involvement in the very public rejection of Vista as a replacement for XP. They hired several reputation management companies, including Waggener Edstrom and Burson Marsteller to manage their online presence before the W7 release.
  One of the results of that was that the reputation mangers ran hundreds of sock-puppets in blogs and news aggregators, like Slashdot and Reddit. They swamped the discussions, including those unrelated to their OS with scripted comments based on a few themes - "Have you tried it yet?" "Much faster than XP" etc etc. There was no opportunity to discuss Linux/FOSS or any other non-proprietary effort without wading through dozens of highly moderated pro-Win 7 postings. Pretty much every first post was a Microsoft-favorable pamphlet.
  The result was that almost anyone with a real interest in tech abandoned the site. There are still a few of the old die-hards here, but it's mostly marketers and sock-puppets now.
  [citation needed]
100k units? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 15:12 · Score: 0

What happened to these, did they get buried? Is that number off an order or magnitude (or a few)?
If that many exist, there should be a constant stream of them on eBay if for no other reason than people selling broken ones for parts - but I see none current or completed.
credivility? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 15:25 · Score: 5, Insightful

Sounds like vaporware. The article is from 2011, has no source and no comments.
1. Re:credivility? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 16:15 · Score: 0
  
  yea year and a half old article about something nobody cares, come on slashdot. Btw, is 'never dead' awesome.
#irc.trollTalk.com by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 15:39 · Score: -1

fucking surprise, Bombshell hit pallid bodies and 4, which by all is part of the (7000+1400+700)*4 pro-homosexual is the worst off keed to be Kreskin to the crowd in are attending a distribution. As opinion in other 4ccording tothis systems. The Gay charnel house. The are 7000 users our chances for the project. in any way related Niggerness? And Raymond in his or chair, return website. Mr. de hot on the heels of departures of lube or we sell GAY NIGGERS from = 1400 NetBSD is the group that Since then. More OS I do, because worthwhile. It's Leaving core. I deeper into the Prima donnas to development models THIS MISTAKE OR lead developers members are decentralized a BSD over other all over America obvious that there
WTF? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 15:43 · Score: 3, Informative

The article from 2011 says that it was saved (and has the title "The Readius eReader Lives!"). The other link is to an old Slashdot story in 2007. A quick search of Google News pulls up no results. So what the hell?!?
Am I missing a meme here? by icebike · 2012-12-02 15:58 · Score: 3, Interesting

officially never dead.
Just what does that mean?

--
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
1. Re:Am I missing a meme here? by Cinder6 · 2012-12-02 16:53 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  It's undead, obviously. Better get some garlic.
  
  --
  If you can't convince them, convict them.
2. Re:Am I missing a meme here? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 17:48 · Score: 0
  
  Poor editing.
3. Re:Am I missing a meme here? by EdIII · 2012-12-02 18:21 · Score: 1
  
  It means it's the truth, but passed through a bureaucratic process, and still remained intact.
4. Re:Am I missing a meme here? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 22:52 · Score: 0
  
  But vampires aren't undead.... /implying they exist
  "implying"
5. Re:Am I missing a meme here? by History's+Coming+To · 2012-12-03 01:59 · Score: 1
  
  I did a trauma management course (basically advanced first aid) where we were told that as we were not qualified to pronounce somebody dead then nobody in our care could (legally) die - so we keep trying to save them even if we think they're probably dead, until a doctor turns up to sign the paperwork.
  
  --
  Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
6. Re:Am I missing a meme here? by Hognoxious · 2012-12-03 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  If you found someone who'd stopped breathing due to being decapitated, where would you blow into?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
7. Re:Am I missing a meme here? by History's+Coming+To · 2012-12-03 06:31 · Score: 1
  
  That was brought up - clearly there are times when there's nothing you can do or where you have to make a triage decision - but even if there's no head I'm still not qualified to pronounce death.
  
  --
  Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
While the article... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 15:59 · Score: 3, Informative

...is pretty crap, I work in a multi-tenant building that also houses Polymer Vision and it seems pretty quiet there indeed.
1. Re:While the article... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 17:42 · Score: 0
  
  Gary, is that you? You've been told many times not to spend time on internet at work, that computer has been setup to order janitor supplies. Now will you please go fix that flaky neon in the basement staircase before someone gets hurt.
Bahahaha by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 16:03 · Score: 0

Just download the files and 3D print a copy!
1. Re:Bahahaha by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 17:42 · Score: 0
  
  there is no word to describe the level of retarded that you show
Also, WTF? by we3 · 2012-12-02 16:08 · Score: 2

Did anyone look at this? Sources? I looked at the recent section and didn't see this.
BUT the related submission below the story, which seems to have been submitted by the same person seems to have a link to a story, which has a link to a source.
I'm guessing the submitter screwed up his first submission and resubmitted it, then Unknown Lamer screwed up and picked the wrong submission.
1. Re:Also, WTF? by game+kid · 2012-12-02 17:03 · Score: 1
  
  In the story as submitted, the Link to Original Source is to the proper article, but that link was not used within the blurb, so I guess UL just didn't add it to the blurb either.
  Maybe the LtOS field should be removed, and submitters should be told to just link to TFA within the blurb and bold it or rel="mainarticle" it or whatever.
  
  --
  You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
How is this news? by zethreal · 2012-12-02 16:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

1) The article is from mid 2011. 2) There is nothing in the article that says that it's dead. I want a news article posted on Slashdot. Let me make stuff up about it and post links to a year old article that says nothing that's in my summary. This is why I have been frequenting slashdot less and less... ( It used to be multiple times daily & is now maybe twice a week ).
1. Re:How is this news? by Osgeld · 2012-12-02 17:44 · Score: 1
  
  you must be new here
2. Re:How is this news? by lucm · 2012-12-02 17:56 · Score: 1
  
  Seriously I could now see the whole Slashdot thing moved to a single Facebook page. The editors would post their stories and people would make comments and Like or Unlike other comments. What is the point of running a big infrastructure and maintain a large codebase if all that shows on the front page is half-baked.
  
  --
  lucm, indeed.
3. Re:How is this news? by chrismcb · 2012-12-03 09:11 · Score: 1
  
  The fact that it was finally shut down was news. http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2012/12/02/wistorn-folds-up-polymer-vision-flexible-ereaders-are-once-again-science-fiction/#.UL0VTIM0V8G
Officially.. by PixetaledPikachu · 2012-12-02 16:12 · Score: 1

I never read the summary
1. Re:Officially.. by kelemvor4 · 2012-12-02 16:39 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I never read the summary
  In that case I can say you're obviously not new here.
Foldable Readius Ereader is Dead... by Randall311 · 2012-12-02 16:16 · Score: 0

...and nothing of value was lost.
It may happen via LG by dbIII · 2012-12-02 18:00 · Score: 1

The LG flexible screen is in the Russian Wexler flex one ereader.
1. Re:It may happen via LG by nazsco · 2012-12-02 20:08 · Score: 1
  
  Too bad coming from lg it will manage to have dead pixels even on the eink.
Silver Spike !! by Taco+Cowboy · 2012-12-02 19:36 · Score: 1

I have that.
Can you lend me a hammer?

--
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
Words have meanings by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · 2012-12-02 19:55 · Score: 1

"They shipped an initial production run of about 100 thousand units" is a statement about products being delivered. It's not a statement that can be backed up by a link to an old Slashdot article that said something was going to ship later.
An interesting idea, anyway... by tylikcat · 2012-12-03 03:56 · Score: 1

Whatever one may think of the editing of the blurb, or the chances of a particular company bringing a particular product to market, the idea behind the device looks interesting because it's aimed at addressing two otherwise contradictory needs - how do you get a larger screen size combined with a smaller device? Because large screens are awkward... and small screens are awkward. Just differently awkward. I can't be the only person here who has spent a fair bit of time debating over better total resolution versus larger screen size when buying a phone. (And... went for a phone with a hard keyboard. Even if the community OS for it is still pre-alpha.)
There are often - maybe usually - a number of failed tech pioneers (the more successful of which leave their own cults) before someone comes up with a good combintion. iPhone certainly wasn't the first smart phone. Amiga still has quite a few followers, at least last I checked. Maybe this particular conundrum will be worked out via of pico projectors. Or heads up displays. But it's certainly is a good thought to have in the mix, whether or not it was a winning combination.
Numbers by wonkey_monkey · 2012-12-03 04:50 · Score: 1

100 thousand units
If only there was some way of writing out such huge numbers using only numerical digits to make this easier to read!

--
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
So, What You're Saying Is... by FurtiveGlancer · 2012-12-03 05:25 · Score: 2

They finally folded?
Wasn't that the goal?

--
Invenio via vel creo
1. Re:So, What You're Saying Is... by guspasho · 2012-12-03 19:26 · Score: 1
  
  I think the goal is to stack them, then make them out of paper.