Queen's University Researcher Creates "Paper" Smartphone

"PaperPhone" is as thin and flexible as a sheet of paper, yet possesses the same capabilities as a regular smartphone

It seems as though IT companies and wireless carriers are leaning toward the principle "the smaller, the better" these days as AT&T rolls out a diminutive HP Veer 4G and tablets like Samsung's Galaxy tabs and Apple's iPad 2 are in a battle to be the thinnest. But researchers from Queen's University Human Media Lab may have them beat with the development of the first interactive paper computer that is being described as a "flexible iPhone."

Roel Vertegaal, director of Queen's University Human Media Lab, has developed the world's first “paper” smartphone prototype called PaperPhone. It looks like a thin, plastic sheet of paper, yet operates the way any smartphone would. It is a lightweight and flexible smartphone with a 9.5 cm diagonal thin-film E Ink display.

Despite its thin, lightweight design, PaperPhone is capable of making phone calls, playing music and storing documents, books and photos. Larger versions of this technology could even be used in offices, eliminating the need for certain supplies like printers, paper and standard ink cartridges.

However, because of the E Ink display, don’t expect vivid graphics, fast display refreshing, or the ability to play movies/games with the PaperPhone.

"The paperless office is here," said Vertegaal. "Everything can be stored digitally and you can place these computers on top of each other just like a stack of paper, or throw them around the desk."

In addition to its sleek design and powerful abilities, the PaperPhone is remarkable in that it does not require power when a user is not interacting with it.

"This is the future," said Vertegaal. "Everything is going to look and feel like this within five years. This computer looks, feels and operates like a small sheet of interactive paper. You interact with it by bending it into a cell phone, flipping the corner to turn pages or writing on it with a pen."

Vertegaal will present his PaperPhone on May 10 at the Association of Computing Machinery's Computer Human Interaction conference in Vancouver.

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