Unveiled at a human-computer interaction conference in Toronto, PaperFold is a three-piece display that could function as three different devices depending on how you fold and connect them. It could function as a smartphone, a tablet, and a notebook all combined in one prototype device. Could this be the future of communications?
The idea behind PaperFold is that users can combine or dismantle the three e-ink panels to suit the user’s needs. The gadget not only recognizes different functions from its connections, but also with the way they are folded. For example, laid straight-out flat on a table and it could be used for Google Maps across the three displays. Folding it like a laptop makes it indeed function as a laptop with a keyboard and a screen, while folding it like a 3D building while using the map turns the device into a 3D-printable architectural model.
Watch the short video below and see more of the different ways it can be used:
As of now, researchers of this project are still keeping silent if PaperFold will be sold commercially. Although not all people might consider this their cup of tea, there will surely be a group of geeks (like us) who will get all excited once they perfected this gadget.
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The thing that really popped up in my thoughts was the possibility of reading text in a book like manner in smart phones. I like the concept.