subject: Hp Shows Off New Flexible Display Tech [print this page] In a surprise move during the keynote of the MobileBeat 2010 tech conference, HP's Chief Technology Officer gave a demonstration of a new form of flexible display that could become the backbone of its impending slate and tablet computing products. This technology can display anything that can be displayed on a computer or television screen on a flexible material, essentially allowing one to roll it up and stick it in one's pocket. Many different companies are working on this technology right now, with an eye towards putting it to use in the slate and tablet computer market.
HP did not expand on what they plan to do after their acquisition of Palm. Many people believe that this acquisition was done for the purpose of getting control of Palm's WebOS mobile operating system, as Windows, so far, has been a very poor operating system for tablets, slates, and other touchscreen devices. Many industry analysts believe that Palm did not fail because the operating system was poor, but only because of poor advertising and a number of failed launches. It is very likely that WebOS will power any slate devices that HP releases soon, as competitors to Apple's iPad.
The purpose of this flexible screen technology is likely slate devices. While the technology is still a ways from being able to keep a computer rolled up in one's pocket, the promise is there. For example, many industry experts say that a computer made out of such a screen would be perfect for reading e-magazines. The feel would be the same as a regular magazine and the device could be used to display and infinite number of different magazines, eliminating the waste that comes with such disposable publications. The technology could also be used to make far more durable screens for various devices than are currently available.
Other than slates, it seems that HP does plan to continue to use WebOS to build phones. HP promised that the technology would be very "open" in the future. This could mean many things: it could plan to make the operating open-source for slate and phone building, similar to Google's Android operating system, or it may plan to make it open to different applications. This would be in stark contrast to Apple's iron-fisted control of their app store, which has caused grief to many consumers and developers. If this is the case, HP could make quite a lot out of WebOS, especially if they are first to market with a flexible-screen slate device.
