PaperFold folding smartphone can turn into a notebook or tablet

Researchers are always pushing boundaries when it comes to devices like smartphones and tablets. People want devices with bigger screens, but at the same time, we want devices that are very portable and easy to take with us on the road. PaperFold is a device that researchers have created that it claims to be the world's first foldable smartphone.

The folding smartphone can be converted into a tablet and a notebook by unfolding or folding the hinged display. The device has three flexible electrophoretic displays. The displays are detachable allowing the device to fold into multiple shapes ranging from notebooks to tablets and more.

The device is a lab concept right now and is far from production ready. I could certainly see the benefit of having a folding screen device. You could use one panel for portability and when sitting at a desk or on the couch, you could unfold it for a larger screen with more viewing space.