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Samsung's 'unbreakable' display survives UL scrutiny
Phone makers have promised unbreakable phone screens for years, but they tend to involve awkward compromises like soft, scratchable surfaces. Samsung Display might just fulfill that promise, though. Underwriters Laboratories certified an "unbreakable" Samsung panel (not yet pictured) as capable of surviving military-grade durability tests without damage. This included dropping it 26 times from a height of four feet and subjecting it to extreme temperatures. It even survived a drop test at 6 feet without any battle scars. Update: Samsung Display posted a video of its new screen, showing how its lightweight plastic cover compares to traditional glass. In the video it survives several strikes from a hammer with no damage to show for it.
Samsung might have bendable, foldable smartphones ready for 2017
Bloomberg sources say that Samsung is thinking of introducing phones with bendable screens. In fact, Samsung said that it would have that technology ready by 2017 itself, just a few years ago at its investors conference. However, this goes some way to proving that Samsung has developed the tech enough to bring it to consumer product. A pair of devices will have flexible OLED screens, with one folding like a cosmetic compact and another that transforms from a 5-inch smartphone-sized screen to a display roughly eight inches large; so... a tablet.
LG 'G Flex' phone with flexible 6-inch display rumored for unveiling next month
Been wondering what LG was doing with that flexible display technology it showed off at SID? Apparently it was working on the G Flex, a 6-inch smartphone with a curved screen. The typically innominate "person familiar with the company's launch plans" told CNET the device will be announced in November, providing the outlet with a low resolution sketch of a curved yet rigid smartphone design. This meshes quite well with the prototype display we saw earlier this summer, which trumpeted the durability of its plastic construction (which it demoed by hitting the panel with a mallet) over its ability to bend. The prototype display is also said to be cheaper to manufacture and lighter than traditional screens, both of which bode well for the end user. Still, the word "curved" seems to have been chosen carefully -- it's probable that this device will mirror Samsung's rumored smartphone and will be an artistically bent handset rather than a flexible one. The official announcement isn't due until next month, but we've reached out to LG for a comment, just in case.
Samsung will announce a curved smartphone next month, but it won't be 'completely flexible'
In the midst of Samsung's global launch for its Note 3, the company is already thinking about its next big reveal. This time around, it'll involve a curved display. The unnamed device could appear in Korea next month, according to Reuters, although Yonhap News (through the wonders of Google Translate) was told to expect a new device announcement some time in Q4. In either case, it's soon. The last time we heard about Samsung's handheld flexible displays was back in CES in January, where a 5.5-inch prototype device named 'Youm' was revealed -- that's what you can see above. The prototype's screen stretched to the outer edges of the device and was able to display notifications along the side, although the handheld itself wasn't flexible. According to Park Sang-jin, CEO of Samsung SDI, the new device will use a similar OLED panel and will be curve-shaped ("not completely flexible"), which will "differentiate" the device from Samsung's existing smartphone family. We suspect it may arrive with that new camera sensor too.
Samsung's flexible display contest offers cash for device ideas, business plans
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.
Hands-on with LG's 5-inch flexible plastic OLED display at SID (video)
You can't blame us for rushing to see LG's flexible OLED HD panel here at SID. First announced earlier this week, the 5-inch display sports a plastic construction, which allows it to be both bendable and unbreakable. Most alluring of all, though, is LG's intimation that the screen tech will debut in a smartphone by the end of this year. Before we get lost in thoughts about a tricked-out Optimus G, let's take a look at this early prototype. The panel is made of plastic substrates, which are both more flexible and cheaper to manufacture than their glass counterparts. In fact, cost-effectiveness seems to be the chief objective overall. Clumsy consumers will benefit as well -- in a smartphone, the glass above the screen could break, but the OLED panel would stay in tact, resulting in lower repair costs. At the company's booth, a demo area let attendees take a hammer to the standalone display and twist it every which way -- sure enough, it withstood these torture tests. In our hands, the 5-inch screen was lightweight and responsive to twists and bends; it felt like a thick film strip. An LG rep told us the panel could sport a bigger or smaller size when it debuts in a smartphone later this year. And though the prototype on display here today was labeled merely as "HD," we're sure that resolution could be adjusted as well. For now, get an early look in our video after the break.%Gallery-188996%
Samsung names flexible OLED display series 'Youm', shows new prototype handheld device
Samsung wasn't done with CES. During its second CES event, it just announced that it will brand its new series of flexible OLED displays Youm. Better still, the company brought on a handheld prototype that was all sorts of flexible. We then got a glimpse of a quick concept video where what appeared to be a phone proceeded to fold out to transform into a tablet. The prototype Youm device also had a screen that stretched beyond the front of the device, meaning that you'll be able to see notifications and widget content even when the device is laid down flat. Update: A glimpse of the video has posted to YouTube, check it out after the break.
Sony quits OLED TV in the consumer market, we quietly shelve hopes for the XEL-2
Hope you're in the mood to pour one out, because the Daily Yomiuri Online has just confirmed that Sony is giving up the OLED TV in its consumer business. According to the report, it has discontinued production of OLED TV sets for the mainstream market, and while it'll continue selling 'em to its corporate clients, it'll concentrate the home-use TV portion on LCD models. For historians in attendance, they'll no doubt (fondly) recall the XEL-1 -- a devilishly thin personal OLED TV that never stood a chance at filling anything other than a luxury niche. The same sect will also remember that it discontinued OLED TV sales domestically back in 2010, but exports to America and Europe continued up until now. The real question? Whether or not those rollable OLEDs are still getting researched in a Sony lab; the futurist in us can only pray so.
NHK's flexible OLED is both literally and figuratively green (video)
When it's not pushing Super Hi-Vision, the hopeful 7,680 x 4,320 successor to HD, NHK also dabbles in small, flexible OLED panels. The Japanese public broadcaster recently showed off a 5-inch prototype display that, while bearing a heavy green tint and very noticeable rows of dead pixels, was still a significant improvement over a similar screen it demoed in 2009. Sure, it's not quite as flexible or vibrant as Sony's rollable OLED from last year, but it does seem to suffer from fewer bad pixels -- an important step towards maturation. Don't miss the video after the break which offers some pretty nifty glimpses at a number of bendable OLEDs. It's clear the tech is still a little wet behind the ears, but we're definitely getting closer to a future populated with TVs that roll up for storage and e-readers that fold like a paperback.
Taiwan subsidizes development for Delta's glasses-free 3D projector and AUO's flexible AMOLED
You know the Taiwanese are pretty serious about technology when you see them liberally throwing cash at factories. According to DigiTimes, Delta Electronics and AUO are two recent winners for a shared NT$600 million (US$19.6 million) government grant, which will cover 45% of each of their research expenditure -- so probably not a fifty-fifty split. If all goes well, Delta will bring out glasses-free, wide-angle 3D projection that's enabled by using multiple high-res LED beamers; whereas AUO will take advantage of the recent AMOLED shortage and develop high-res flexible panels. Nice going, folks, just don't let us catch you all partying on the factory floor with that money.
Universal Display ships eight wrist-worn OLED displays to military, too late to help Noble Team
We had a little fun with Universal Display Corporation's flexible OLED display at CES a few years back, ruggedized and militarized and destined for Army wrists of the future. Little did we know that future would be so close. The company has just confirmed that it has delivered eight of the 4.3-inch, 320 x 240 screens to the US Army for "military evaluation and testing" and, while it doesn't sound like there's a specific purpose in mind at the moment, we're pretty sure they'll come up with something to do with them. We know we sure would. Update: We got a new picture of the current version above, and a second picture below of it being tortured on the rack.
TDK flexes its transparent OLED muscles with CEATEC demonstrations
Finally a bit of competition to pep up the transparent OLED market. Samsung and LG seem to have had this party all to themselves until now, but TDK is stepping in with a 2-inch passive matrix screen and a humble QVGA (320 x 240) resolution. Sure, those aren't groundbreaking specs, but a claimed 50 percent transmittance -- meaning that half of what's behind the screen can be seen through it -- beats its Korean competitors rather handily. Another prototype being shown off by the company is a 3.5-inch flexible OLED panel that redefines thinness with a slinky 0.3mm profile. It's made using a resin substrate and covers an unimpressive 256 x 54 pixels at the moment, but again, that's just how good things get started: with small steps of awesome. We'll keep an eye out for both of these as we prowl the halls of CEATEC 2010.
ModisTech to commercialize cheap, flexible OLED lighting this year
It's far from the only one working on flexible OLED lighting, but it looks like ModisTech could be among the first to actually bring something to market, as its now announced that it will begin commercialization of its 150 x 150mm flexible OLED panels this year (seemingly ahead of its original 2011 schedule). Those will apparently be used for various indirect lighting applications including desk lamps and car lighting, and promise to provide a more natural light than LEDs while maintaining some of the same power savings. Still no word on any actual products using the OLED panels, unfortunately, but they will supposedly be inexpensive for companies to adopt (and very cheap to manufacture).
Please hammer, don't hurt Samsung's flexible OLED prototype (video)
Surely by now you've seen pictures or videos of flexible OLEDs -- many from Samsung. Did you ever wonder just how durable the things are? The video after the break should answer that question. In it, one of the Hammer Bros. from the Super Mario games, apparently frustrated about Polyphony Digital's endless delays, is attempting to destroy a screen looping a Gran Turismo 5 clip. A traditional LCD shatters like so much porcelain, while the 2.8-inch, 20 micrometer thick OLED display is completely unaffected, even when folded. Impressive, and apparently just the thing to wear when exploring the Mushroom Kingdom.
Video: Samsung's e-passport turns your head into a rotating government specimen
Samsung (and your local government) hasn't been shy with its plans for electrifying passports. Yet we still haven't seen video of its e-passport with flexible OLED display in action, 'till now. The 2-inch, 240x320 AMOLED displays a disembodied, rotating head in 260k colors and 10k:1 contrast when activated by an RF source reader. No details were provided as to when these might enter production but we have the icky feeling it'll be sooner than we want.[Via OLED-Info]
New mass-production technique for flexible OLEDs could make them cheap
Getting tired of flexible OLED prototypes that are about as ready for retail as that cold fusion reactor your uncle Harry is building in his garage? Yeah, we are too, but it seems the industry is getting a little closer to reality, the latest step coming courtesy of Arizona State University's Flexible Display Center and Universal Display. Researchers at the pair have managed to produce flexible OLED displays using the same production techniques used to create standard, rather less bendy LCD displays, enabling the transistors that control the pixels to be applied to plastic, rather than the glass they typically find themselves embedded within. They glue a piece of plastic onto glass, feed it through the LCD manufacturing process, then peel the two apart like a high-tech Fruit Roll-Up. That technique was used to create the 4.1-inch monochrome display shown above -- which is for now just another prototype that won't be showing up in any devices any time soon. [Warning: PDF read link][Via Technology Review]
Samsung shows off latest, biggest, bendiest AMOLED prototype
Today the flexible OLED is still a very rare thing, usually confined to dark corners of exhibitors booths at trade shows or grainy photos from some research facility. Sadly that doesn't look to change anytime in the immediate future, but Samsung is at least still making progress with the tech, demonstrating a new 6.5-inch flexible prototype at SID 2009 in San Antonio. It's bigger than the earlier examples we've seen from the company, and apparently a little bendier too, but beyond those juicy facts -- and knowing that it can display scenes from The Sound of Music -- we don't know a thing about it.
Resin replaces ITO in latest flexible OLED prototype
Make no mistake, wrapping your mind around the build of an OLED panel is mighty tough to do. Without getting you mired in technobabble, let's just say that indium tin oxide (ITO) has generally been a mainstay in every single OLED that was produced commercially. Now, a team of researchers from AGFA-Gevaert, IMEC, Holst Centre and Philips have prototyped a 12- x 12-centimeter flexible OLED lighting panel that swaps out the ITO for highly-conductive transparent resin electrodes. You see, it's been difficult for OLED builders to secure enough electrical conductivity of ITO in a low-temperature process, and this new methodology is perfectly suited for the coating method (which makes it ripe for printing). The resin itself is being dubbed Orgacon, and tests have shown it to have a 6x improvement over ITO in terms of electrical conductivity. Beyond that, the crews are keeping the secrets safe from the poachers of the world, but here's hoping this amounts to more than just jovial celebration in a far off laboratory.[Via OLED-Display]
Modistech unveils flexible, ultrathin OLED light in Korea
We just heard that the OLED market was set to skyrocket in 2011, but don't tell Modistech. Said outfit has just revealed its own flexible, ultrathin OLED light module in South Korea, which honestly looks eerily similar to Samsung's "flapping" OLED panels from last fall. Details are pretty scant right now, but we're told to expect mass production within the next year, with public availability penciled in for -- you guessed it -- 2011. Hit the read link for a few more delightful looks.[Via OLED-Display]
Sony shows off flexible OLED Walkman concepts on video
Looks like Sony Insider caught some footage of those flexible OLED Walkmans in action during a CES promo video hidden away in the booth. Looks like a pretty sweet riff on the Cover Flow-esque interface that's due to arrive on the NWZ-X1000, but there's not much else to go on -- let's hope Sony's spending more time getting the X1000 ready to leave that impenetrable glass housing than it is mocking up videos of fantasy tech. Video after the break!
