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foldable

Create a 3D cardboard avatar mini-me for 12 bucks

The same people who brought you Olly the smelly robot have taken the next logical step into creating miniature 3D cardboard avatars. Yep, I said "huh?" when I heard that, too.

But "huh?" isn't a bad thing. Mint Digital's Foldable.Me is an online design tool that lets you customize your blocky little avatar. Next, you pay $11.99 and your little friend shows up in the mail a few days later. The avatar comes flat for you to fold into shape.… Read more

Stretchable OLEDs let you fold, resize your screen

The Holy Grail of computer screens, something you can fold up and put in your pocket, is getting very close.

UCLA researchers have created a prototype of an OLED screen that easily folds, and also stretches enough to increase in size by 45 percent. The researchers' prototype isn't a fully functioning screen--it just shines the color of a blue sky--but it's proof that the major ingredients work.

The first hints that foldable computer screens were possible arrived with OLED screens that could bend a little bit. Then came OLED screens that were flexible enough to roll around a pencil.

Truly stretchable displays could bring about the long-sought tablet or e-reader that you can roll or fold and put in your pocket. The technology could also be used for wearable electronics, implantable electronics, robot skin, and solar cells that can be stretched over curved and irregularly shaped surfaces. Technology Review's Kristina Grifantini suggests cell phones that expand and contract. Think pocketable phone that expands to become a mini tablet.… Read more

Rubber-like display stretches definition of OLED

When it comes to a dream laptop, my biggest dilemma is that I want the machine to be as portable as possible (aka tiny), and at the same time have a huge screen. And by huge I mean 20 inches or larger.

Now it seems there's a glimpse of hope.

According to Oled-Display.net, researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a new kind of OLED display flexible enough to stretch or deform like rubber.

The team demonstrated a face-shaped display that showed changing expressions, together with a spherical screen that displayed weather information.

The researchers accomplished this … Read more

A glowing keyboard in your pocket

Regular readers of this space know that there's no shortage of lighted and roll-up keyboards. But one that combines both? Now there's a neat trick.

The "USB Illuminated Roll-Up Keyboard" from USB Geek does just that, made from flexible silicone with a "sapphire blue" electroluminescent coating. Resistant to water and dust, it even coming in a choice of two colors--white and pink--for a mere $27, according to Technabob.

We think this is pretty nifty as is, but someone is bound to ask this question (so we will first): When will there be … Read more