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Next year could bring a new twist in the evolution of
the smartphone. Samsung are gearing up to produce flexible, unbreakable
mobile phone screens that can be bent, twisted and even folded up and
put in your wallet. The South Korean tech giant reportedly has the
flexible screens in the final stage of development and will be ready to
ship them next year.
The breakthrough has been made by through the use of organic light
emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are thin and can be put on flexible
material such as plastic or metal foil.
Samsung is not the only company to have invested heavily in research
into flexible screens using OLEDs. Companies including Japan's Sony and
LG Display, also of South Korea have launched prototypes.
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However Samsung is the first to promise a launch date for the
technology, with an unnamed source 'familiar with the situation' telling
the Wall Street Journal they will ship in the first half of 2013.
Looking at the release dates of the company's flagship smartphones, the
S series, that suggests that the first device to feature the flexible
screen technology could be the yet to be announced S4.
The company's move to produce the flexible displays comes as smartphone
and tablet makers search for ways to differentiate their products in a
market where customers face a glut of almost identical products.
Vinita Jakhanwal, director of mobile and emerging displays and
technology at IHS Electronics and Media, told Tech News World: 'Flexible
AMOLEDs can help Samsung differentiate its products in a smartphone
market where most products offer similar products and functionality.'
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Even if Samsung were not able to able able to commercialise flexible
screens straight away, making their screens out of plastic rather than
glass would make their devices lighter, more durable and cheaper than
rivals'.
A common bugbear with the kinds of touchscreen displays often used on
mobile devices is that they are brittle and prone to cracking. Replacing
the glass now used with plastic would solve that problem.
Samsung had previously promised to bring flexible displays to market
this year, but that deadline came and went without any announcement from
the company.
However, the company's push for innovation has become more urgent as
other display makers are also introducing different technologies for
mobile phone and tablet screens.
Sony has been researching the same flexible screen technology since
2002, and showcased a 4.1in flexible OLED two years ago, the same time
as Samsung showed off their version of the technology.
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However, a spokesman for Sony told the Wall Street Journal he couldn't
comment on when the company would begin mass producing the displays.
And earlier this year, Apple filed a patent for 'electronic devices with
flexible displays' that included features like on-screen keyboards that
can be modified to handle concave or convex curves.
Lee Chang-hoon, vice president of Samsung's display division, told the
Journal his company has sent out samples of the new displays to a few
select customers, but added that the release dates of any new products
using the technology has not yet been confirmed. |