Rollable displays are almost here. There have been a number of concept designs and prototypes displayed in recent years with mainstream commercial application imminent. Some models have a display that folds in one or more places, while others go further with screens that roll up like a windowshade. My hope is that with all the examples below, a real, rollable reader device will be available soon that finally provides a large screen with small-space portability.

Folding Designs

One of the most promising devices was is the Readius with a screen that folds down to a third of its size to look somewhat like a portable voice recorder. Sadly the development company finally closed its doors this month, leaving the Readius in limbo. UPDATE: Some really good news and a correction to the above. The source article for that was actually pulling from Engadget’s feed last year. Since then Polymer Vision, Readius’ developer, has been acquired by Wistron Corp and is very much alive. I do apologize for any confusion, and hopefully we’ll see the Readius available for purchase in some form later this year.

Though much larger, the Rolltop laptop shows how the same folding technology could change how we handle future displays. It’s also unavailable as only a design concept, but it’s certainly an idea with potential.

Also from the “coming soon” category, Samsung started showing off its folding OLED phone concept in Japan in 2008, and later brought it to CES in 2009. Without giving much in the way of details, it was still said models should be available in one or two years, so basically any day now.

Rolling Designs

The eRoll is another concept design similar to the Rolltop, but this eReader winds up smoothly into it’s cylindrical case without folds. Ultra-thin displays have been around for a while now, but real rollable displays have been elusive till just last month Sony announced a new OLED screen that can wrap around a pencil.

But when will one be available to buy? Plastic Logic out of the UK claims to have a flexible, rollable ebook reader that will rival the Kindle and be available in just a few months. But Plastic Logic also says “it dares not produce a roll-up screen yet because research showed that consumers don’t want flexibility” because “people worry that it will break if they roll up a device.” I really find that incredibly hard to believe.

With as hard as users are on their hundreds-of-dollars phones, having a device that can take some flexing would be a godsend to the public. It’s more likely Plastic Logic just isn’t ready with their tech. But that’s fine. Fujitsu, HP, Philips, Sony, LG, and Toshiba are all working on it too. Even the US Army has invested $100 million in flexible displays since 2004. The public wants it, developers know, and it’s coming soon. I just wish it were already here.