Am I the only one who has trouble keeping my phone in my
pocket, because my pants are too tight and my phone is too big? I have the IPhone
5S, and in comparison to many phones now, it is relatively small, but not quite
small enough. However, the solution to this pocket and phone dilemma, might not
be too far away. In January of 2016, LG announced
that they were working on and looking forward to producing the first ever
Display Flexible OLED. In simpler terms, a television that is made out of a
material so flexible that it can be rolled up into a one-inch tube (http://bestofwhatsnew.popsci.com/lg-display-flexible-oled).
An 18-inch version of this is in the works currently and their expectation that
a screen as large as 60 inches will be available in 2017. So what exactly makes
this flexible screen possible? As of now all televisions and other electronic
devices are made from thick, nonflexible plastics or metals. These new screens
will be produced using a polyimide film. According to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3384028/The-TV-roll-like-newspaper-LG-unveil-flexible-screens-used-smartphones-cars.html a similar plastic is already in use in Apple Watches
and some of the newer versions of Android. An example of this incredible
plastic material that is being used can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_tXaS6rP4c.
Companies like LG and Samsung have begun producing incredible products such as these, in certain televisions and cell phones. However, the plastic that is being used is not flexible to the consumer. It is flexible to the production team as they produce the products, but the final product is not actually flexible. http://www.oled-info.com/flexible-oled believes that second generation products using this OLED plastic, will be in fact flexible to the user. A video released by Samsung shows the ultimate goal of these products, which is to create a phone that can be folded down into the size of a small wallet, but have the capabilities of a tablet. These will make calls, send texts and allow you to surf the internet as if it were a tablet. http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-flexible-foldable-phone-vidoes-2015-9 Shows several different video, simulating what the final product will look like and how exactly it can be used.
It is unclear as to when exactly these products
will be available, but there is much information on these first generation
prototypes. http://www.cnet.com/news/what-you-should-know-about-flexible-displays-faq/ explains that LG announced that they are now able to
produce a flexible display screen, which is actually the “light-emitting
diode”, or layer that produces the images and sits beneath the glass. Yes,
flexible glass has been available for quite some time now, but finally there is
the display screen to match it. Of course the end goal is to have curved phone and
television screens that can bend and move like a piece of paper, but the
technology they have already come out with is a great first step. My concern
with this would be the quality of the picture on the display screen. LG claims
that the picture will be just as clear, if not better. I believe this will
completely change the way the world communicates. So much of communication is
now down on phones, tablets, IPads, and televisions. The internet makes the
world a smaller place, and allows us to communicate with people all over the
world in a matter of seconds. A device as small and effective as this can
effect the way information is presented in the business world, and our every
day communication. I guess only time can
truly tell as to what will occur because of this new invention, but I am very
excited to see where the Flexible Display OLED will be in the future. Hopefully
it will be snuggly tucked into my tight pants pocket!
