flexibility

Samsung has quietly bestowed a name to its flexible AMOLED technology, an indication that we may soon see it on retailer shelves.

Youm is the name chosen by the electronics giant for its thin, next-generation screens, which are so malleable they can be bent into a wave or arc. Samsung claims it is "unbreakable."

CNET got a look at the technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2011. The 4.5-inch screen on display was less than 0.3mm thick and sported an impressive WVGA (800x480 pixel) resolution that can be curved.

The company has envisioned the flex-tech concept … Read more

Researchers are making progress bridging the soft, wet world of the human body and electronics.

The National Science Foundation today released a video giving the latest news from researchers trying to develop flexible electronics that can be placed on the skin or embedded in the body. The hope is that these devices can be used to diagnose or provide care to patients.

The group is testing prototype circuits that can detect muscle, heart, and brain activity with a skin-attached temporary "tattoo." These devices, made from small curly wires embedded in flexible membranes, perform as well as rigid electrodes, … Read more

With bendable smartphones already on tap for next year, Samsung's next big thing may be a flexible, transparent tablet.

Samsung's Mobile Display division posted a video yesterday showing off a concept device that looks to be a smartphone-tablet hybrid that can be rolled up like a newspaper or expanded for different tasks.

In the clip below, you can see the Samsung Flexible AMOLED concept being used as an e-reader, a camera, a video chat system, and an interpreter. The company also imagines the tablet showing off 3D images through the use of an augmented-reality system. … Read more

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--With the Nokia Research Center leading the way, the Finnish handset manufacturer could be headed down one twisted road--and we mean that in a good way.

Since its founding in 1986, the NRC has been charged with developing mobile technology through the exploration of science. The center recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and to commemorate the milestone, Nokia hosted various events around the world. CNET got to take part in the U.S. celebrations at Nokia's Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters yesterday, where we got to check out some of the latest innovations from the NRC. … Read more

There seems to be a big brainstorm at the Nokia Research Center lately. It recently showed off the all-touch-screen Gem concept and a mind-bending flexible device interface.

One of its latest innovations is a radical new piece of concept hardware called HumanForm.

This fish-shaped concept is a departure from the rectangular devices we gawk over these days, and gives us an peek at a future where smartphone design has evolved beyond limitation. The soul of HumanForm contains part nanotechnology, a flexible display, and kinetic interaction. … Read more

Donald and Eric comment on RIM's dull vision of the future and are only slightly more enthusiastic about Microsoft's competing take on things. A Nokia researcher shows off a genuinely interesting vision of what flexible touch-screen devices might be able to accomplish. In Geek News, Eric confesses his love for Uncharted 3 and Harrison Ford's face.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video … Read more

Not to be outdone by Nokia, Samsung says it will introduce smartphones with flexible displays next year.

On its earnings conference call with investors this morning, the Korean company briefly mentioned its plans to bring the bendy phones to market in the coming months.

"The flexible display, we are looking to introduce sometime in 2012, hopefully the earlier part than later," said spokesman Robert Yi. "The application probably will start from the handset side and then migrate over to tablets and other mobile devices."

There were no further details on which product line might be among the first to get a bendy screen.… Read more

Concept cell phones are a dime a dozen these days.

Several months ago, for example, images of a flexible Samsung Galaxy Skin cell phone emerged courtesy of South Korean designer Heyon You. Nearly a dozen images showed a forward-thinking ultrathin, ultralight flexible OLED cell phone running a future version of the Android OS. There was even a set of specifications given that fueled excitement about the concept, such as a built-in projector and graphene as one of the phone's materials.

Recently, the International Business Times and the Telegraph ran stories confirming the Skin's existence, and a rumored release time frame of the second quarter of 2012.

In a brief statement to UK magazine T3, however, Samsung said the Skin is not in. "It is a project that has been carried out by design students and is just a concept product. Samsung was not involved in the project," a Samsung rep told T3. "The students used the name Galaxy Skin and the Samsung logo in their concept to make it look more like a commercial product." … Read more

The Holy Grail of computer screens, something you can fold up and put in your pocket, is getting very close.

UCLA researchers have created a prototype of an OLED screen that easily folds, and also stretches enough to increase in size by 45 percent. The researchers' prototype isn't a fully functioning screen--it just shines the color of a blue sky--but it's proof that the major ingredients work.

The first hints that foldable computer screens were possible arrived with OLED screens that could bend a little bit. Then came OLED screens that were flexible enough to roll around a pencil.

Truly stretchable displays could bring about the long-sought tablet or e-reader that you can roll or fold and put in your pocket. The technology could also be used for wearable electronics, implantable electronics, robot skin, and solar cells that can be stretched over curved and irregularly shaped surfaces. Technology Review's Kristina Grifantini suggests cell phones that expand and contract. Think pocketable phone that expands to become a mini tablet.… Read more