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The Readius Is Real!

Written by Hank Green on 22/01/08

About a year ago we brought you a prototype device that used a low-energy, high-resolution, rollable e-ink display.

The idea was to have a phone that could have a large display roll into a small package. So, basically, the display would be bigger than the phone, allowing for a variety of uses, including book reading.

Well, that device is now officially on the slab to be created and sold.

It's currently called the Readius and is being created by a spin-off of Philip's electronics called Polymer Vision. The device will be slated to compete directly with high-end phones, including the iPhone...but also with Amazon's Kindle e-Reader.

The good news is that because e-ink is such a low-power display, the phone will be light and won't need to charge as frequently as the iPhone. However, that high-res, low-power display has its limitations too, like only being possible and grayscale, and with a long refresh rate that makes it unusable for video.

That won't stop me from sinking a few hundred dollars into it, but as we all know, I'm an e-reader fanboy.

Via Reuters

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written by EV, January 23, 2008
Can we get the reader without the phone?
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written by Adrienne, January 23, 2008
Is it like reading from a computer?? My eyes start to hurt after an hour or so from that. Otherwise it looks great!
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written by Kimberly, January 23, 2008
Wow... it looks really interesting. I would love to check out the prototype. But I am still not sure if I want to read "electronic" books. I do love reading the old fashioned way.
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written by Magnulus, January 23, 2008
Adrienne, it will not be like reading from a computer. Computer displays constantly refresh the image you look at, leading to a very fast, almost unnoticeable flicker. The e-ink displays don't do this. They "load" an image and then stay like that, not flickering or using any battery, until you "flip the page". In other words, it'll be like reading a book.

My main gripe with this particular machine is that the screen is too low-res for me. Even with a small screen like that, they should have been able to put in at least a VGA screen. 320x240 is not nearly as dense a resolution as what they could and should have gone for in an e-reader.
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So. Cool
written by Katie(bo-baity), January 23, 2008
That's so cool! I want one, ahahahahaha. I love e-reading! :)
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Phone? No thanks
written by Bram, January 23, 2008
It's a shame that it's also a phone. I would've bought it if it wasn't. Unless there's some way to make it work without a SIM, it's not for me. Looks like a missed opportunity to me.
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written by toast, January 23, 2008
sorry hank but calling yourself a 'fanboy' is not a good thing - wiki states it is practically a derogatory term. your blog makes for excellent reading - don't put yourself down ;)
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old phone = green, new phone =???
written by avagee, January 23, 2008
It's 'got to be'(*) more green to reuse a device you already have as an eReader. For a while now I've been reading books with my regular cell phone. It's great being able to flip open my phone and start reading whenever I get the chance, if I had to carry a paper book or an eReader I'd probably forget it most of the time. My phones screen is pretty small but fine for novels and general prose. I get books all packaged up for the phone from http://www.booksinmyphone.com The give away hundreds of titles. You can install direct to the phone from the mobile version of their site, or via a PC.

* You'd have to do a full lifecycle analysis I guess; on the one hand low power consumption is great but manufacturing electronics is pretty dirty - probably the greenest thing is to wait till you need to upgrade anyway.
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teacher on global warming
written by Frank, January 24, 2008
comment: ONE SHOULD LOOK AT ALL THE FACTS NOT JUST THE POPULAR VERSION. THE EARTH TAKES ON MANY CYCLE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. ANOTHER FACT IS THE MAGNETIC POLES ARE SHIFTING, SINCE WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING THIS THEY HAVE MOVED 25 DEGREES AND 8 DEGREES IN THE LAST 10 YEARS ( I MIGHT BE OFF ON THE TIME CALCULATION HERE) . THE POINT IS IT IS NICE TO SEE WE ARE LOOKING BUT ONE NEEDS TO FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL BEHIND THE GLOBAL WARMING POSITION AND LOOK AT THE GROUP THAT IS BEEING SILIENCED ON MORE OF A COOLING TREND OR CYCLE THAT IS PHYSICALLY TAKNG PLACE AND LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE OF THE SHIFTING POLES. I LEAVE YOU TO FIND THE TRUTH.
GOD BE WITH YOU, PEACE
FRANK

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