Sunday, September 2, 2012

Bendable Breakthrough?


Look at your phone.  Study its architecture, its unique design; think of all you know of phones and the technology behind them.  Reflect on all of the technological advances that have come to these devices in the past, and any that you feel could come in our future.  Did the possibility of having a flexible phone ever cross your mind?  I know it never occurred to me.  But guess what, that seemingly illusive idea is now closer to reality than ever before. 

Both Samsung and Nokia have been experimenting with new technology and have found ways to allow a phenomenon such as a bendable phone to be possible.  Samsung has been creating a phone with a “foldable screen", while Nokia has been working on a design that will allow a flex-to-input concept, which works by either bending or twisting the phone to complete your desired process.  I have included two links at the bottom that more thoroughly explain these new ideas, one discussing each design.  But, for those of you like me who don't particularly enjoy reading news articles, I will summarize each of them for you now.

Let’s start with Samsung.  According to my article, Samsung has created a plastic-backed AMOLED device that will allow phones to be made lighter, thinner, and above all else, it will allow them to have a foldable screen.  Analysts say that the first examples of this device could possibly be in a screen that would fold over the edges of a phone, taking away the frame and permitting the screen display to continue to the sides.  This design is thought to be “indestructible”, and while that is a major selling point, its remarkably thin build is a close second.  A later model of this design, one that will actually fold in half, is likely to come later in 2013.  This all new design could definitely give Apple a run for its money.

While Samsung is working on a “foldable” device, Nokia has been taking strides to create one that is flexible; one that you will bend and twist in order to operate.  Nokia, however, is not the only company working with this flexible technology.  Canadian researchers recently created a prototype for a “paper phone” that also has a flexible build.  The dream for these flexible designs is to eventually create one that could roll up like a scroll and unfurl to be the size of a tablet.  High hopes have clearly been set for these future products.

In my opinion, considering how rapidly technology has been advancing, I feel that virtually anything is possible.  Though I do think that the idea of having a bendable phone is farfetched, I have no doubts that the technology geniuses of today can make this idea a reality.  



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