In over a year since Philips’ vision dubbed the Readius was first tossed around the internet, we’ve seen a variety of mock-ups. What may be one of the most impressive things about the latest incarnation of the device however, is that the finished product is equally as interesting as the rumors and prototypes, if not more so. Slated for a mid-2008 release, the Readius project will be carried forth by Philips spin-off Polymer Vision and full specs are not yet available. We certainly like what we’ve heard so far though, and more details shouldn’t be far away. The release will have a flexible “electronic paper” five-inch display that wraps around the device when closed. It will support cellular voice and high speed data although compatible network details aren’t yet available. For the time being, it looks like supported Readius services such as email, RSS aggregation, podcasts and audio books will need to be configured on a PC. The Readius will then use an updating mechanism to push content to the device over data networks. Polymer Vision’s initial offering will also lack a full keyboard, instead making use of an eight-button control configuration. In terms of pricing, all we know for the time being is that Polymer Vision CEO Karl McGoldrick claims that it will be competitive with high-end mobile phones. McGoldrick has big plans for this compact device and for future devices that will come out of Polymer Vision. An eight-inch color electronic paper display with video capabilities is currently in the works and McGoldrick claims it will be built within 5 years. As nice as that sounds, we think they may want to step up the pace a bit if they hope to compete with the electronic paper technologies on the horizon from Japan.
[Via Reuters]
