Glass
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Asahi's new slim glass substrate for touchscreen displays gives smartphones svelte silhouettes
We all want our handhelds to have copious computing power and bountiful battery life, but thin is in, and most users are looking for a device that's less Marilyn Monroe and more Kate Moss. To keep new phones and tablets runway-ready, Asahi developed a thinner glass substrate for use in touchscreen displays. This new 0.28mm soda-lime glass is 15% thinner than the company's existing offerings, and Asahi will begin mass producing it by the end of April. The skinny new substrate will strut its stuff at SID next month -- paired with some durable Dragontrail, no doubt -- so we're looking forward to getting handsy with the company's new slim and trim displays. Mostly, we're just thrilled that our future phones won't look as fat in our jeans. PR's after the break.
Flex testing iPad glass
The folks at iFixYouri had some glass panels from an iPad 1 and an iPad 2 laying around the shop and did some informal tests to see which panel would break under stress. An earlier analysis by iFixit revealed the glass in the iPad 2 was 27% thinner than the iPad 1. The California repair company questioned whether this would affect the durability of the iPad 2's display. Boston repair shop iFixYouri tries to answer this question in a video that features extreme bending, breaking glass and a catchy soundtrack. Read on to watch the iFixYouri video and let us know in the comments which display you think holds up better under pressure. Hint: bigger isn't always better. [Via 9to5mac]
Could future iPhones charge with the power of the sun?
Mark Spoonauer at LAPTOP got a nice story at CTIA today when he sat down with French company Wysips. The prototype he saw puts a solar panel -- a transparent solar panel, thin enough to work with touchscreens -- directly atop the screen of a phone, and with enough oomph to charge the phone with light. The photovoltaic film (less than 100 microns deep) is only in the development phase now, but Wysips is looking forward to working with glass manufacturers (like Corning, makers of the Gorilla Glass that covers the iPhone 4) to integrate the charger film directly into screen glass. The solar layer will generate power in room light or sunlight; this version will fully charge a phone in about 6 hours of light exposure, with future generations becoming more efficient as the technology matures. Like the plug-in hybrid technology in today's cars, it might not be enough juice to get you cross-country -- but if the solar film is cheap enough, it would certainly provide a power boost when you're away from your charger. Fun stuff. Check out the post on LAPTOP's blog and the accompanying gallery of the Wysips prototype.
iPhone 4 glass spawns class action lawsuit
Apple faces a class action lawsuit from California resident Donald LeBuhn over the glass used in the company's popular iPhone 4 handset. LeBuhn accuses Apple of misleading customers by pointing to Apple's website, which boasts that the glass used on the iPhone 4 is "20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic." LeBuhn disputes this and other claims of durability in his lawsuit, which states: "Months after selling millions of iPhone 4s, Apple has failed to warn and continues to sell this product with no warning to customers that the glass housing is defective." LeBuhn asserts the glass does not stand up to normal use and cites his own experiences to back up this claim. On two separate occasions, LeBuhn has dropped his iPhone from similar heights. In the first incident, he dropped an iPhone 3GS, which survived the fall without breaking. In the second case, LeBuhn's daughter dropped an iPhone 4 while texting, and the handset's glass shattered. LeBuhn has sought class action status on this complaint and is asking Apple to refund the purchase price of the iPhone 4 and reimburse any repair fees for affected customers. This is not the first time the durability of the glass in the iPhone has been questioned. A report last year from Square Trade suggests the iPhone 4 has a 68% higher reported accident rate and 82% more damaged screens than the iPhone 3GS. That's not to say the iPhone 3G or 3GS wont break. One of our own writers cracked the glass screen on his iPhone 3G and detailed the process of screen replacement and repair. [Via IntoMobile]
Visualized: the last glass eye maker in Britain
We'll be the first to admit that there's not a lot of tech in use here -- this is the story of a man using techniques that are hundreds of years old. Still, it's a mesmerizing glimpse into the creation of art with a hugely useful purpose: glass eyes. The video below is a study of Jost Haas, a Londoner who shapes each orb by hand, said to be the last man in Britain who still manufactures them this way. It's a 16mm film shot by Ben Todd and, if you like, you can consider this your five minutes and three seconds of zen for the day. Update: Loudmouthman was kind enough to share this link that contains another video of Mr. Haas in action plus some further information from one of the recipients of his work.
Asahi Glass introduces Dragontrail for consumer electronics, puts the Gorilla on notice (video)
Corning, your scratch-free monopoly is coming to an end. No longer will you hold us hostage with your insanely durable and cunningly marketed Gorilla Glass. Asahi Glass is getting in on the game, introducing Dragontrail -- a name that doesn't quite give us the same connotations of incredible strength but, if you watch the video, you'll see it manages many of the same tricks as Corning's offering. Poking and prodding? Pass. Huge flexes? Bring it. Whacked with a hammer? Easy. The company indicates it's been working on the product for years now and expects sales next year to surpass 30 billion yen -- that's $365 million. For glass.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: sexy green cars, glass strong as steel, and Tianjin's Eco-City revealed
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This week Inhabitat brought you unveilings of the world's hottest new eco vehicles as we hit the floor of the Detroit Auto Show and rounded up the seven sexiest green cars on display. We also took a first look at Toyota's new Tesla-infused RAV4, and we caught up with Venturi's powerhouse electric concept car. And if unconventional transportation spins your wheels, don't miss the shape shifting Uno 3 electric scooter and this masterfully-crafted Tron segway that could out-geek a lightcycle. We also looked at several groundbreaking building systems that stand to make our cities stronger and more sustainable, starting with a new type of flexible superglass that is stronger than steel. Meanwhile, Sweden is soaking up body heat from public places to help heat buildings, China unveiled plans for a futuristic eco city, and several offices in Minnesota flipped on a set of souped-up ceiling lights capable of broadcasting wireless internet. In other news, the world of renewable energy is jolting for joy as Southwest Wind Power unveiled the world's first fully smart grid-enabled windturbine. We also checked out a new ultracapacitor that can charge a power drill in 60 seconds, and researchers are working on energy-generating fabrics that can transform your t-shirt into a power plant. Finally, this week we wrapped up our CES coverage with a look at the best green gadgets from this year's show, and we flexed our creative capacity with 5 tech projects for kids that foster creativity and critical thinking.
Stronger-than-steel palladium glass paves way for dental implants of the future
A team of researchers at Caltech and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a new type of glass that's stronger than steel, but it might not make it out of your oral surgeon's office. The material is a combination of glass' simplest form, called marginal glass, the metal palladium, and small fractions of phosphorus, silicon, germanium, and silver, making it resistant to massive amounts of pressure and strain. A glass this strong has endless potential in the way of structural application -- think cars, planes, and bridges. Thing is, though, palladium is super expensive, and researchers involved in the project say the best applications are in products like dental implants, which are currently made of soft, stiff noble metals, more likely to cause complications like bone atrophy. Chances are we won't see super strong glass bridges anytime soon, but the new glass dental implants could be in your mouth as early as 2016.
Glass globe doorknob gives you a view of what lies beyond... the door
Got more curiosity than energy to open doors? Then you'll want to get yourself one of these fisheyed globe doorknobs from designer Hideyuki Nakayama. The idea is resoundingly simple, the globe on your end of the door provides a wide-angle view of what's on the other side, which is achieved by collecting and reflecting light soaked up by another globe on the other end. So yes, privacy might be a tiny bit compromised with these door handles, but the fun coefficient should be through the roof.
Are higher iPhone 4 accident rates really something to worry about?
A report that surfaced from SquareTrade a couple days ago claims that accident rates are higher on the iPhone 4 than its 3GS sibling. SquareTrade says that in the first four months of the iPhone 4 being out in the wild, there is an 82 6 percent increase in reported broken screens over the rate on the 3GS. Thing is, SquareTrade counts the back of the iPhone as a screen, not just the front display, and reports that broken glass on the back of the iPhone accounts for 25 percent of the issues they've run into. One thing to take with a large grain of salt -- SquareTrade makes its living by selling warranties. It culled its numbers not from AppleCare, but the company's own warranties that it sells. Far more iPhone 4 users most likely have AppleCare or no extended warranty at all on their iPhone and this study, which has grabbed a good bit of media coverage, seems to have been created to sell more of SquareTrade's warranties. There was also a pent-up demand for the iPhone 4 as evidenced by the numbers sold compared to those for the 3GS. Many people, myself included, waited to upgrade from the original iPhone or iPhone 3G and never got a 3GS. The phones are also constructed differently. So, take double the amount of glass in a phone, add the fact that there are more phones out there, and you're going to have more accidents. Read through the report and make your own decision. If you're still worried, slap a good case on your iPhone and don't use it as a hockey puck or bottle opener. [Via MacObserver]
Samsung's Galaxy Tab will come with Gorilla Glass screen
It might not share the Galaxy S' vibrant Super AMOLED display, but there is one way in which the Galaxy Tab's visage is identical to its elder smartphone sibling: both are protected by Gorilla Glass. Corning has just dropped a quickie press release to announce that Samsung's upcoming 7-inch tablet will benefit from its scratch- and impact-resistant alkali-aluminosilicate goodness. Guess now Samsung's ad advising us to stuff this slate into our pants pockets makes a lot more sense. [Thanks, Olivier]
Greensound's glass speakers: stunning visually and aurally, far from kid-friendly
Yeah, we've seen our fair share of glass speakers in the past, but it looks as if Greensound has hopped on the bandwagon at just the right time. In the past, these kinds of music makers were largely looked at as gimmicks, but the Floe series looks to offer a serious advantage over equally expensive conventional drivers. Put simply, audio is created at the base of each speaker, and it's distributed up (and around) the pane with the lows coming from the bottom, the mids from the middle and the highs from the top. We're pretending to ignore the fact that these things will probably be far outside the budget of every sect save for the affluent, but you can tease yourself by pressing play just after the break.
Samsung Galaxy S sporting Gorilla Glass to protect that precious AMOLED
Remember this horribly painful video? The Gorilla Glass protection on the Dell Streak is undoubtedly a selling point, and now Corning, the maker of said glass, has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S (which includes the Vibrant, Captivate, Fascinate, and Epic 4G in its brood) employs the same alkali-aluminosilicate glass shield. The glass is similar to the "helicopter windshield" stuff Apple uses on the iPhone 4, which was rumored to be Gorilla Glass at one point, and while neither tech is impervious to shattering, they certainly can take a beating -- but just try and do that pen stab torture test while we're not looking, alright? We don't have the stomach to witness another beautiful Android handset so roughly handled. PR is after the break.
Token multitouch screen shows us the future of DJing, today (video)
Think you know multitouch surfaces? Think again. We've just come across a video demo of the Token multitouch, erm, pedestal, which seems to have come straight from the future. A clear sheet of glass that beams out video from your computer and accepts touch inputs in return, the Token concept has been designed by a chap named Rodrigo hailing out of Chile. We know it uses a rear projector for its video, but other construction details are scarce at this point; what's really special here, however, is the way he combines it with a Traktor Pro controller titled Emulator, turning a few intelligent finger swipes into a kickass light-and-sound show. See it on video after the break.
Stab-proof Gorilla Glass coming to TVs near you in 2011
If you go to Corning Inc's website, you'll see the company advertises its seemingly indestructible Gorilla Glass as being available for LCD TV sets, but to this point, no major manufacturer has taken up this tempting offer. That's all about to change, apparently, as Corning has recently announced plans to massively expand its production capacity (see press release after the break) and is now predicting it'll secure its first deal this fall. The benefits of going Gorilla are increased durability, strength and scratch resistance, which some are arguing could be a big selling point to display makers keen on doing away with plastic bezels and exposing edge-to-edge glass surfaces. Of course, the disadvantage is that we'd have to pay up to $60 more for a panel with the extra-tough stuff inside, but then having the option is better than not, right?
Aircord Lab's N-3D concept turns an iPad into world's second least practical 3D display (video)
Think giant active-shutter glasses are a roadblock to 3D adoption? Wait until you get a load of this, the N-3D from Aircord Labs, a glass pyramid with semi-reflective sides that allows you to peer through while reflecting the image of a screen above. In this case the screen is provided by an iPad which, as you can see in the video below, separately renders three sides of an object. Each slab of glass reflects a different rendering and, hey presto, changeable perspective as you move from side to side, reducing the usable screen real-estate on the iPad by at least a third and producing an effect slightly less compelling, but slightly more portable, than that Time Traveler arcade game that used to take four whole quarters to play. No word on whether there will ever be a take-home version, but get yourself a sheet of plexiglass and you could probably make your own.
Invisibility cloak upgraded to bend infrared light, not to mention our minds
The fabled cloak of invisibility was once considered impossible for modern science, chilling out with perpetual motion up in the clouds, but these days scientists are tilting at blurry windmills with a modicum of success several times a year. The latest advance in theory comes to us from Michigan Tech, which says it can now cloak objects in the infrared spectrum. Previous attempts using metallic metamaterials could only bend microwave radiation, the study claims, but using tiny resonators made of chalcogenide glass arranged in spokes around the object (see diagram at left) researcher Elena Semouchkina and colleagues successfully hid a simulated metal cylinder from 3.5 terahertz waves. While it's hard to say when we might see similar solutions for visible light, even a practical application of infrared cloaking could put your night vision goggles to shame, or perhaps block covert objects from being detected by those newfangled terahertz x-rays.
iPad used for 3D effect
This is really wild -- Japan's Aircord lab has used the iPad to create a 3D effect, but not what you'd think, with the standard glasses and views. Instead, the iPad is used to project a set of three images onto a specially-coated glass pyramid, which then reflects the three video images in all directions, creating a 3D effect as you move around the display. You can see the thing in action in the video after the break -- it's not completely perfect (obviously, when you hit a seam while moving around, the image distorts and breaks up), but there is a definite projected hologram feel to it as you look head on. And really, any high resolution display could be used here, but I'm sure the iPad is the cheapest and most handy option for something like this. Very cool idea for sure -- it's tough to think of a real application (maybe a museum installation is the most obvious use), but it is a neat effect. [via MacStories]
Wrap your iPhone 4 in Swarovski crystals
Now that Apple has all but confirmed that the iPhone 4 needs a case to work correctly, you might as well go as over-the-top as possible, right? Enter this Swarovski crystal case from Caze -- over 1500 Swarovski glass crystals covering every part of the iPhone's sides and back, encircling your handset in garish, diamond-like ... erm ... luxury? Just in case the classic silver version above isn't flashy enough for you, the case is also available in Gold, Blue, or Pink. And if you so choose, you can even get a free crystal Apple logo along with your purchase. Sheesh. I can't say I'd want my iPhone looking like that, but each to his or her own, I guess. And wait for the price: the case will set you back a full $199 plus shipping and tax. In other words, probably the same thing you paid for the 16gb iPhone underneath it. If you've got an extra $200 sitting around and want to make your iPhone extra shiny, I'm sure Caze will happily help you out.
Jonathan Ive on Apple's material obsessions
Core77 had a chat with Apple's Jonathan Ive about the iPhone 4 and the materials that it's made out of, and Ive says that the process is very holistic; Apple has really gone from start to finish with the types of metal and glass that make up the latest iPhone, and they've worked at every step of the process to try to make them better designed. He says that the glass on the front and back is "scratch-resistant aluminosilicate glass," and the metal around the edges is one full band of stainless steel. (The "seams" are just cosmetic -- it's all one piece, apparently.) "That understanding, that preoccupation with the materials and processes," Ive says, "is essential to the way we work." Ive does have his usual ethereal lightness about how hard design is to grasp. "You cannot disconnect the form from the material -- the material informs the form," he says. If nothing else, though, the interview definitely shows just how obsessive he and Apple are about designing and manufacturing these devices. iPhones become commonplace so quickly after launch that you tend to forget all of the work and thought that has gone into every single feature of their hardware. Apple isn't really doing anything magical here; it's just sitting down and grinding out exactly what materials work best in which ways in order to make a really beautiful and functional object. [via 9to5Mac]
