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We’ve known for a while that Samsung is readying phones with flexible screens. Now, though, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that it’s pushing forward with the concept more quickly than ever, in order to avoid being beaten to the finish line by other firms.
The new phones simply swap plastic for glass in the screen. The OLEDs you find in plenty of other displays can be put on flexible materials — like metal foil — which then makes it possible to create a device which is both unbreakable and bendable.
Samsung hasn’t told the Journal how much it’s invested in the new bendy phones. However, it points out that it has been spurred along by growing innovation in the display market, from the likes of LG and Sharp. Seems that’s enough to rush out a bendy phone as soon as possible.
Which is just what it plans to do. The Journal reports that a “person familiar with the situation” told it that devices will be released in the first half of 2013. Bendy phones for all!
But that raises a fine question: who the hell wants a bendy phone anyway? Aside from plenty of gimmick value and the ability to flex when squeezed into the pocket of your tightest pants, it’s not obvious what it adds to the user experience of a phone. Is a bendy phone something you want in your life? [WSJ]
Image by Samsung
Is it not more to do with flexibility? What I mean is if you drop it wouldn’t it react better on impact than glass? Making it a better alternative? I’ve found one of the main problems with the glass in phones is the moment its dropped the glass screen cracks or shatters and thats it, you need to replace it , where if you had a bendable flexible screen surely it wouldn’t be as simple to break?!?!
I think the next big thing will be textured screens. I.E. screens that give your figures some sort of programmable feedback. Just imagine getting a on screen keyboard that will feel like pressing keys.
True haptic feedback, basically.
So… it’ll feel like you’re going back in time to a phone that has keys…?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiM0u79fals&feature=fvwrel
It’s innovation I am looking forward to. Just the design and technology behind it will be interesting.
Depends how much you can get it to bed I suppose. If you could eventually fold on in half that would make today’s big screen phones manageable again but I’d guess where are a while from that.
Bed? Bend!
If I can bed it, it’s awesome
“Depends how much you can get it to bed I suppose.”
It sure does
Yeah but it’s bent and I don’t swing that way
Meh, it,s bendable, it’s up to you to if you want to bend it.
it’s*
Ready for home time!! COD awaits
“The new phones simply swap plastic for glass in the screen”
is that worded correctly? to me that says the phones will now have glass screens instead of plastic…….making it anything but flexible (well not anything….like a pot plant or a whale)
I’m looking forward to the droid smartwatches!
Surely they will need to invent bendy motherboards and batteries too?
i think only the screen will be the bendable part. I imagine it’ll be attached to a non-bendy base where the mb and the battery, etc is located
If you can make a bendy bus, a phone should be a piece of cake .. er .. phone!
I’ve noticed a lot of concepts being thrown into movies and games using a bendy screen. As a standalone first gen phone, I can’t see the point, but these screens then sold to other companies, hell yeah
Two concepts that spring to mind (not even including the new BlackOps II sleeve computer)
http://www.flashfilmworks.com/MovieGuide/RedPlanet/red06.jpg
http://walyou.com/img/concept_psp_design.jpg
Who wants a bendy phone you ask? That is because you’re failing to consider that a whole new design paradigm is opened up. Most such concepts have already been drawn up by enthusiastic imaginative industrial designers and visionaries (including this one), such as a wrist worn bracelet like communicator with gesture driven interface, roll up/pop out display devices (see my crude 11 year old drawing at http://www.owonder.com/rollo – drawn 11 years ago, not when I was 11, although it looks like it!) and even mouse mats that double as displays. Huge potential!
bring on hologram wrist phone/watches!