DeviceGuru

Polymer Vision is demonstrating a 3G HSDPA tri-band phone with a unique, rollable e-paper display this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The “Readius” device combines normal feature phone functions along with e-reader capabilities.

When the phone is introduced toward the middle of this year, a dedicated Internet portal will offer personalized content for the device, including news, email, MP3s, podcasts, audio books, and more. The company hopes the Readius’s unique combination of features and services will create “a whole new mobile phone category.”

CEO Karl McGoldrick says “People are demanding greater choice and flexibility in having overall instant access to personal content and information. 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.”

When rolled up, the device is about the size of a normal mobile phone
(Click each image to enlarge)

The Readius reportedly is roughly the size of a normal mobile phone, yet it features a 5-inch (diagonal) display that’s claimed to be “twice the surface area of current largest phone displays.” Additionally, its weight (4.1 ounces) is around a third that of average e-readers, the company notes.

Other touted features and specs include:

• Processor — 400MHz ARM11 CPU core
• Storage — up to 8GB Micro SD
• Display — 5-inches diagonal, 16-grayscales
• Battery life — 30 hours continuous reading
• Cellular wireless — 3G tri-band HSDPA
• PAN wireless — Bluetooth 2.0
• Supports ActiveSync and USB mass storage (USB 2.0)
• Weight — 4.1 ounces (115gm)
• Size — 4.5 x 2.2 x 0.8 in. (115 x 57 x 21mm)

Click below for an interesting short video about the Readius’s rollable display.

Polymer Vision is a privately held company that was spun out from Netherlands-based Philips in 2006. Further details on the Readius device are available from the company’s website.