TransparentDisplay
Latest
Samsung shows flexible and transparent displays at CES 2011 (video)
We spent a few minutes at the show this week ogling the prototype displays that Samsung's Mobile Display unit has produced over the last few months, headlined by some particularly awesome 4.5-inch flexible and 19-inch transparent AMOLEDs. Let's start with the flexible unit: Sammy seems to be particularly excited about this one, demonstrating on video that it's shatter-proof by bashing it repeatedly with a sledgehammer -- compare that to the inevitably disastrous consequences of dropping an iPhone onto concrete, and they've already won us over. Although the company still has some manufacturing challenges to overcome, commercial interest seems to be strong and they'll eventually be on the market (though not in 2011, sadly). The picture for the transparent displays is a little murkier -- both physically and from a business perspective. Though they're not as clear as regular glass or as crisp and bright as a traditional AMOLED display, you've got to marvel at what they're doing here: full see-through color at effectively small television sizes. Interestingly, Samsung tells us that they're really close to being production-ready with these -- possibly even close than the flexible screens -- but they're still looking for business cases that'd make mass-producing them a worthwhile venture. Follow the break for some video of these bad boys, along with a 7-inch Super AMOLED that's looking Galaxy Tab-ready (and some other goodies)! %Gallery-113552%
AUO shows off 2.4-inch transparent multitouch display
AUO's no stranger to showing off wild new displays that may or may not ever end up in actual products, and it looks like it's no exception at Display Taiwan 2010 -- the company's taken advantage of the trade show to unveil this new 2.4-inch transparent multitouch display. While it's apparently suitable for cellphones and other devices as well, the company says it's targeting it specifically at GPS devices -- we presume, to allow a slightly less obstructed view on your windshield (as opposed to an actual HUD). Of course, it is still just a prototype, but the capacitive screen does indeed seem to support full multitouch, and is said to be fairly responsive. See for yourself in the video after the break courtesy of Netbook News.
Somy X5: basically a Sony Ericsson Pureness for a tenth the price
Here's the thing about Sony Ericsson's Xperia Pureness: once you get past the translucent display, there's not much to it. Seriously -- it doesn't have 3G, a camera, hunks of precious metal, or even a fancy name to flaunt like Vertu, Dior, or Versace; it's just a low-end phone from a mass-market manufacturer that can't do much other than make calls. We suppose that's why it was so easy for a Shenzhen KIRFer to pop out this near-perfect duplicate of the Pureness -- the Somy X5 -- in no time. Heck, it's even got support for two SIMs, or exactly twice as many as you'll find on the $1,000 genuine article -- which, if you're keeping track, is over twelve times the bargain-basement sticker on the Somy here at RMB 550 ($81). Anyhow, looks like it's back to that search for a faithful Aura replica, eh?
NanoTouch: like your parent's LucidTouch, but now with more nano!
Microsoft and Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs in Cambridge, Massachusetts -- the cats that brought us LucidTouch a while ago -- are back with NanoTouch, a further refinement of the technology aimed at making UIs practical on tiny devices. Utilizing a 2.4-inch screen with a touch pad on the back, users can select or drag items from the underside -- meaning that the entire screen is visible at all times. According to researchers, targets as little as 1.8mm (less than half the size of, say, the buttons on an iPhone) are easily hit using this method -- bringing the advantages of touchscreens to smaller form factors, with a number of possible applications including electronic jewelry, wearable computers, and virtual finger puppets. Video after the break.Update: It appears that unlike LucidTouch (which was in fact developed in Cambridge), NanoTouch was actually the product of work done by folks from Microsoft and the Hasso-Plattner-Institute in Berlin / Potsdam. Sorry for the mix up!
