In what may be the oddest story of the day, the populat tire maker, Bridgestone has decided to enter the display market with sales expectations of $9 million in a couple years.
Bridgestone has invested several hundred million yen in the business and plans to start mass-producing the devices by December 2005, a spokesman said.
Using proprietary technology that it employs in tire manufacturing, Bridgestone would make liquid powder displays as thin as 0.25 millimeter, much thinner than liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and plasma displays.
It will sell the first device, with a screen size of 4.5 inches and thickness of 1 mm, to a European company for use as an electronic tag displaying prices, product names and other information such as photos of where the product was made.
