Folding OLED display

Well, Samsung have come nicely to my aid with a video from the FPD 2008 trade-show of a working, folding OLED display (in this case embedded in a mobile phone) that makes an excellent follow-on to the previous post about dual-display eBook research.

The video is pretty tedious (1m49s long), but there are a couple of high-points when the working, bright OLED display in the cell-phone is folded flat as the "side-ways clam shell" is closed shut.



In an update post here on the OLED-Info web site they claim it is actually two individual OLED displays side by side. The video isn't close enough, perpendicular to the displays or of good enough quality to get a really good look at the middle of the display but there is no visible seam between them.

If they can get the two displays to stitch together perfectly, and fold double and lie flat - then who cares if it's flexible? It looks great.

I can imagine this going down great in a fold-out iPod for viewing video, with a smaller even lower power display used for audio, phone, etc.

And off-course, a larger version of the same as an eBook reader (maybe with a touchscreen Sony PRS-700 like integrated into each one) that due to brightness and response times of OLEDs would also be very good for viewing photos and videos and so making it more of a generic eReader. OLEDs are lower power (especially when displaying black or darker colors) but still not as low-power as E-Ink or other reflective displays, and so battery life would be worse - but could still be acceptable and worth the trade-off for all those other capabilities.

Apple, PMP manufacturers, Laptop/Netbook manufacturers and eBook/eReader manufacturers all please take note!