Hasta La Gadget!

We’re used to seeing toughened glass on our phones and tablets, where it protects screens from chips and cracks. BMW, however, plans to use the substance on a much grander scale — the automaker just revealed that its upcoming i8 hybrid will be the first mass-produced car to use hardened glass. The currently unnamed material will reduce noise and weight in windows behind the windshield. As BMW doesn’t have to use thick glass to maintain strength, it can produce acoustically damped windows that weigh half as much as they would otherwise. We’ll have to wait until the i8’s arrival in 2014 to see how well this component choice works on the road, but it could lead to a future of lighter cars that still offer quiet interiors.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Autoblog

Source: BMW

There’s been a deluge of Moto X reports, and it shows no signs of stopping. We’ve seen the device’s press shots, camera UI and benchmark results, and most recently, we’ve even watched the T-Mobile version waltz past the FCC. Now, we’re treated to purported press images and unannounced features from Taylor Wimberly, formerly of Android and Me. According to Wimberly, a sheet of specially treated Gorilla Glass covers the phone’s entire face and wraps around its sides, forming a nearly seamless gap with the rear shell. Apparently, it’s special enough that Motorola will call it “Magic Glass.” As another nod to the phone’s toughness, he also claims a laminated aluminum structure makes its frame even stronger, despite being thin and lightweight. Check out the images to decide the report’s veracity for yourself, but don’t sweat it too much — we’ll be able to confirm it in a few days when the phone launches on August 1st.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Via: Droid Life

Source: Taylor Wimberly (Google+), 2, 3

Just as promised, ASUS has unveiled its Zenbook Infinity at Computex 2013 in Taipei. Being the first laptop — let alone an Ultrabook — to boast a Gorilla Glass 3 lid, it’s able to take advantage of three times the scratch resistance than the material’s predecessor. This has allowed ASUS to achieve a maximum thickness of just 15.5mm, or about 14 percent thinner than the previous line of Zenbooks. But would the glass survive a drop? According to the product manager, the laptop’s passed various drop tests, but only time will tell if it’s as good as he promised.

Despite the slimmer body, the Zenbook Infinity surprises us with a built-in touchscreen as well as a backlit keyboard. There’s also a USB 3.0 port on each side, along with an SD card slot, micro-HDMI port and a Mini DisplayPort. No word on the other specs or prices just yet as this laptop won’t be out until Q4, so stay tuned for future announcements. Check our our eyes-on video after the break.

Filed under: Laptops, ASUS

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Once, twice, three times a gorilla? Corning’s primate-themed glass is ready for a third go-round, and as you’d expect, it’s even tougher than the first two iterations. Gorilla Glass 3 has been improved at the molecular level, incorporating a proprietary feature called Native Damage Resistance (NDR). According to Corning, NDR reduces the propagation of flaws, the appearance of scratches and does a better job of maintaining the overall retained strength of the glass. As a result, GG3 claims a three-fold improvement in scratch resistance, 40 percent reduction in the number of visible scratches and 50 percent boost in retained strength after the glass becomes flawed. None of this actually means your phone or tablet will survive a five-foot drop onto concrete, granted, but you’ll at least feel more comfortable keeping your keys somewhere close by. The full press release can be found below.

Continue reading Corning introduces Gorilla Glass 3, promises ape-sized improvements in durability

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Tablets, Mobile

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You could argue that toughened glass is the cornerstone of the modern mobile industry: without the knowledge that our touchscreen phones and tablets could survive the everyday risks of scratches and minor drops, many of us would be terrified of leaving home with a glass-covered mobile device in our hands. Corning now has evidence to prove just how important that silicate can be. In addition to the mostly upbeat third quarter fiscal results you’ll find after the break, the firm brags to us that more than one billion devices have shipped with some variant of Gorilla Glass in place, spread across 33 major brands and 500 individual models that are occasionally very immobile. We can’t give Corning all the credit when alternatives like Dragontrail exist, but numbers like these make it hard to dispute that millions of gadgets have been spared an untimely end (or a flimsy plastic display) by some clever primate chemistry.

Continue reading Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that’s a lot of face-saving surfaces

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that’s a lot of face-saving surfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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