Wistron Folding E-Paper Device Coming 2010

Now that Polymer Vision's new owner – Wistron – has been confirmed, it's time for some speculation about what they might have up their sleeve with the folding e-paper technology.  Wistron's Brian Chong, chief of product planning, has confirmed that the company intends to release a 5- to 6-inch device using Polymer Vision tech in 2010.  From the sound of it, it's very much alike the prototype device Polymer Vision themselves were showing round before their sale.

According to Chong, the Wistron device will be around the size of a business card, and have a pull-out display.  It's likely that means a fold-around display rather than a true, completely furled panel as we've seen in some of the more outlandish prototypes.

What's unclear is whether the Wistron version will have embedded wireless connectivity, as Polymer Vision's original Readius design did.  Earlier this year, before the buyer was publicly known, it was suggested that the target market would shift from smartphones to ebook readers; even so, with the proliferation of wireless-connected ebook devices, it seems sensible to keep some form of cellular UMTS connection in place for mobile ebook downloads.