Think an iPad is too big for your bag? Just roll it up…

Apple’s iPads could soon allow users to roll it up like a good old fashioned newspaper thanks to new technology being developed in Australia and Italy.

Researchers at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne University and Italy’s University of Padua are using laser technology to make products – including TV;s, iPads, mobile phones and Kindles – more flexible, thinner and cheaper.

While this all sounds pretty cool, I can’t help but think ‘so what’.

I have an iPad (as of the second day it was officially available) and I have absolutely no desire to put it in my handbag and carry it around with me.

The device is excellent, I use it for everything from reading books, playing games, using apps, email and checking my finances. But the device tend sit on my coffee table and I am mainly reaching for it during an ad break or when I have time to laze about on the couch.

It really isn’t an ‘on-the-go’ device. But, that being said, with the future of newspapers looking bleak, perhaps in a few years time when e-readers and tablets are more advanced – as well as a broader offering of Wi-Fi services in city centers – we’ll be more willing to ‘roll it up’.

But, just a few years ago, a similar technology to what is being developed in Australia and Italy was being used to develop screens that would replace light bulbs. The screens would be fastened to a ceiling like wallpaper to light a room. We’re yet to see this come to market though…

The laser technology for the iPad and similar devices will potentially dramatically cut manufacturing costs and make color displays brighter.

The biggest advantage for advertisers and app makers? Location based marketing.