Mar 28
The holy grail of flexible electronics is a reading device that you can roll up and stuff in your pocket. And now, thanks to Sony and E Ink, we’re almost, sort of, kinda there. If you have $1,100 to spare.
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Jan 07
The other night we saw a bunch of Samsung’s curved 4K TVs
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Nov 05
LG recently launched the G Flex
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Sep 26
In an unusual bout of frankness, a Samsung official has acknowledged that the Galaxy Gear smartwatch lacks, you know, whatever the Korean is for je ne sais quoi. As reported by the Korea Times, the unnamed official said:
“We’ve acknowledged that our Gear lacks something special. With more investment for user interface and user experience, Samsung devices will be better in terms of customer satisfaction.”
We’re not sure if the source of the quote is Samsung’s VP of strategic marketing, Lee Don-joo, but this exec is quoted in the same Korea Times article as saying that the watch is “definitely receiving a warm response” and that improvements would stem from software tweaks and the hiring of new UI experts, rather than from the development of a whole new device. He described the Gear as part of Samsung’s drive to create new categories of “wow product” and, in virtually the same gasp, he also reiterated that Samsung would launch some sort of heavily curved — or perhaps even partially bendable — smartphone in Korea next month.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Samsung
Via: Unwired View
Source: Korea Times
Sep 24
Samsung, which has long had an obsession with curved phones
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Sep 24
Samsung may well be the first company to actually deliver on the endless promise that flexible displays are on the way, with a limited edition Galaxy Note III with a plastic OLED screen said to be in production.
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Sep 03
We marveled at how the Microsoft Surface’s Touch Cover could fit a full keyboard into such a thin space, but it has nothing on a new membrane from CSR. The peripheral combines printed circuitry with a Bluetooth 4.0 chip, producing a flexible, nearly paper-thin (0.5mm) touch layer that can talk wirelessly to most mobile devices and accessories. It should also be highly responsive with less than 12ms of lag. CSR suggests the skin could be used for more than just tablet keyboard covers; it could equally apply to smart paper notebooks and interactive desks. The company hasn’t named any customers for the membrane, but we should see more of it at IFA.
Filed under: Peripherals
Source: CSR
Aug 14
Samsung’s flexible display contest offers cash for device ideas, business plans
Posted in: Today's Chili
Samsung’s been so busy getting its flexible displays (aka “Youm”) consumer-ready, it’s now got no clue what to actually do with them. As such, it’s decided to pay others to be idea-men, launching the “Flexible Future Business Plan Competition” in the US. Starting August 29th and running to October 6th, the contest is calling for nifty gadget concepts that use one to 20 inches of flexible display at up to full HD resolution. They’ll be judged on how important a flexible display is to the device, as well as design, practicality of hardware and business plan. The winner will receive $10k, with second and third place taking $5k and $2.5k, respectively. Samsung hopes you’ll head to the source link for the full lowdown, because there are only so many bendy smartwatches one can sell before you need other gear to put wobbly panels in.
Filed under: Displays, HD, Samsung
Via: Phone Arena, Sammy Hub
Source: Samsung (contest page)
Jul 21
Plastic skin lights up on contact, may lead to touchscreens everywhere (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Flexible circuitry is frequently a one-way affair — we’ve seen bendy displays and touch layers, but rarely both in one surface. UC Berkeley is at last merging those two technologies through a plastic skin whose display reacts to touch. By curing a polymer on top of a silicon wafer, the school’s researchers found that they could unite a grid of pressure sensors with an OLED screen; they just had to remove the polymer to create a flexible skin. As the film-like material can be laminated on just about anything, it maylead to touch displays in places where they were previously impractical, or even very thin blood pressure sensors. It could also be easy to produce — since the skins use off-the-shelf chip manufacturing techniques, commercial products are well within reach.
Filed under: Science
Via: Phys.org
Source: UC Berkeley
May 19
While many of us already have tablets like the iPad, the futuristic vision of people walking around with digital notebooks taking notes with a stylus never really came to be. With Sony’s upcoming E-Ink tablet, this could finally be a reality.
Currently being shown in prototype form, the new tablet features a large 13.3″ (A4 Size) drawing surface, and is ridiculously thin. In fact, it’s just 6.8mm thick (almost 30% thinner than a current-gen iPad). The tablet features a 1600×1200 resolution screen, using E-Ink’s new Mobius screen technology. This new tech sandwiches the electrostatic film between plastic layers instead of glass, which cuts down on thickness and weight, and makes the display material flexible. In addition, Sony says the plastic screen will be more durable than glass versions – though I have to wonder how long well it will hold up to stylus pressure over time.
Photo: DigInfo
The display is designed for taking notes, data entry, and creative tasks. While the black and white display isn’t as responsive as LCD screens, it’s definitely faster than other electrostatic screens, with exceptional battery life. In fact, Sony says the tablet can go up to three weeks without a recharge. Another benefit of course is the ease of reading the screen in daylight and workplace lighting.
Sony plans on releasing a commercial version of the tablet at some point later this year.
[via DigInfo & New Launches]
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