Seattle to get first flat, flexible LCD screen news paper

The flat, flexible display screen you can roll up and put in your pocket or purse might finally be here. Hearst Corp., owner of the Post-Intelligencer and an investor in the technology, plans to test it in Seattle and elsewhere.

Long the promise of science fiction, and the dream of techno-geeks like myself, it looks like the "interactive newspaper" may be coming one step closer to reality.

The electronic P-I will carry real-time news, same as the Internet, not yesterday's news like traditional papers. Readers will turn the e-paper's pages by touching the flexible screen. And when those readers head off to work, they will roll up the electronic P-I and stuff it in their pocket, purse, or briefcase.

One of the many advantages of a mature e-paper technology like this will be the low power consumption. Unlike modern back-lit electronics which drain batteries, e-paper devices use reflected light, like print media. This low power consumption will be key to early production and adoption. What really excites me about this kind of technology is that the obvious next step is to do streaming video and other active web content, broadcast to your flexible display screen. Can you all imagine carrying a "print" version of constantly updated Digital Journal with you on the train, without lugging around a laptop?