LG begins mass production of first flexible e-ink displays

My first reaction was to scoff, but this actually improves e-readers in a few critical ways. E-ink screens have been so easy to break that they all but require a (usually) cumbersome case to survive a trip in a backpack or, say, accidentally rolling over on it in bed. This should improve that, and it sounds like the weight savings aren't negligible either. Amazing that we're close to being able to carry a library in something barely heavier than a sheet of paper. This will also make larger format readers more practical.

<i>It’s unlikely that e-ink will ever compete with LCDs when it comes to watching videos or playing games, but e-ink definitely has the edge on reading.</i><p>When they can inexpensively support enough reactivity to support touch interfaces, it goes much beyond just reading.

Interesting that they are beginning mass production. In today's manufacturing process, doesn't that mean they already have a customer?

Am I the only one that doesn't understand the advantage?<p>I don't want paper-like e-ink displays that start to feel all "used" after a couple of days. Bending them will presumably keep them from lying flat later on. People talk about wanting to "fold" them -- and then you'll never get the creases out. And I don't want a whole book of these sheets -- for me, the whole advantage is that an e-reader <i>doesn't</i> need page turning!<p>If I had a flexible display, I would just keep it protected in a hard-backed case, thus negating the whole point. Am I missing something here?

Since the substrate they are using is lighter, in the short term this means lighter e-books, in the long term there's no reason we can't have portable roll-up computers like Val Kilmer had in Red Planet.

I really love e-ink, and flexible displays are a nice gimmick—but until they improve, they are still just that. I’m concerned that flexibility will encourage people to bend the display beyond its limit, rather than serve its intended purpose of insurance against accidental bending.<p>What I’m really looking forward to are outright <i>foldable</i> (yet uncreasable) display surfaces. Done reading the e-paper? Fold it up and stuff it in your bag, worry-free.

I guess they could make a "book" form factor with say 10 pages each made of the flexible e-ink sheets. That way you could still have a book experience and turn pages. Maybe when you get to the last page it refreshes all 10 pages for the next section of the book.<p>I'm not really sure if it would be useful but it would be a cool magical book.

I'm really looking forward to FOLEDs and other similar technologies, but then again I think the main problem is that nobody (as far as I know) has solved the normal wear problem.<p>Sure there are demos where they hit on of these film/screens with a shoe and nothing happens, but when I saw Samsung's flexible tablet video you could clearly see how the section that folded was already damaged, like an old book cover that's about to crack.<p>Whoever solves this is golden, high-scale manufacturing AFAIK has already been solved by HPLabs.

Living in a small apartment with no room for a television at the moment, I can't wait for the curtain display concept to become reality.<p>Finally the display can be put to use, even when it's not in use.

Hmm, what kind of refresh rates can we expect? Similar to rigid e-ink?<p>Now the question is when we get flexible, touch Mirasol... which will presumably be after we get Mirasol.

Is flexible much different than "thinner"? Does it naturally become more flexible the thinner it gets?

I read it this morning and was pretty excited to see where this may lead into. Very cool stuff!

This has some exciting applications. Has there been an official announcement on retail price?

having cracked the glass in two kindles, making them useless.. this is such a nice news, but too late :)

I don't know how big these can be but I would love to see columns wrapped in this stuff with scrolling patterns, maps, text etc