New technology could allow iPads to be rolled up like a newspaper / File Source: AdelaideNow

Researchers at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne University and Italy's University of Padua were using laser technology to make products - including televisions, iPads, mobile phones and Kindles - more flexible, thinner and cheaper, mX reports.

The same technology was also being used to develop screens that would replace light bulbs. The screens would be fastened to a ceiling like wallpaper to light a room.

The researchers were developing prototypes to take to Apple and other manufacturers next year.

Melbourne-based CSIRO researcher Jacek Jasieniak said the technology could easily be applied to iPads to make them more user-friendly.

"It wouldn't be so bulky," Mr Jasieniak said.

"So in the future, they'll make (electronic) newspapers that are flexible and rollable. You'll be able to put them in your bag or pocket and read them on the train in a very compact way.

"It can be applied to any displays, including mobile phones, where you need some color being emitted maybe (at) a high intensity, brightness and purity."

The prototype has been in development for the past five years.

The laser technology would also dramatically cut manufacturing costs and make color displays brighter.

"These will actually be better in terms of their color resolutions, and the displays will be better in terms of their brightness," Mr Jasieniak said.