Samsung Patented Foldable Tablet Display and Invisible Buttons

Samsung filed patent for a foldable tablet display last year and it was granted on July 7^th.  Last year, Samsung’s CEO hinted that there would be a foldable device and with the patent application granted, it seems to be true after all. Samsung has filed for a foldable screen not only for OLED screen; however, the company has also filed patent for the LCD screen.   According to Samsung, there will be a flexible display panel that is greater than 8-inches in size which means, it falls in the range of Galaxy Tablet product.

Samsung has filed a number of flexible and foldable patents but they have been slow in materialized it. This year, the company realized one of it with the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge which comes with a flexible display. Apple on the other hand, has used flexible display technology on its smart watch. However, it seems that the company is going to use it in a few more applications apart from Apple Watch.

Apart from the flexible display, Samsung is also patented a near invisible virtual buttons which is located near the edge of the touch screen. These virtual buttons are actually sensor pads which can be configured to perform certain actions like taking pictures or as a video game console. One thing for sure, as the R&D departments keep inventing, there should be a patent following that. However, hopefully a few of them can be realized in the real life.

Samsung Patented Foldable Tablet Display and Invisible Buttons

Samsung Display reported to be working for flexible displays for the Note 5 and Galaxy S7

After the big announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S Edge last month, rumors for the next Samsung flagship have already started to begin. An unnamed source from the hometown of South Korea has claimed that Samsung’s display division aka the Samsung Display is reportedly for the next flagship handset from the Samsung camp which would most probably be the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S7. As per the ETNews, Samsung has already announced that the company would need nearly 8 million panels for the upcoming Galaxy S7 as the production begins. As a result of this, the display production unit at Samsung has already started to expand its largest factory which is said to switch the manufacturing process from glass to polymide.

Polymide polymer has been very largely used in the manufacturing of OLED displays. However, the manufacturing using this material is bit difficult and Samsung would need to find a way to meet the demand. The new expansion of the manufacturing facility is said to be completed by this August. An Samsung official has claimed that

“The expansion is inevitable because it has been announced that Samsung Electronics have requested of 8 million flexible panels per month for Galaxy S7″.

Well another device that would be closely watched out this year would be Samsung Galaxy Note 5 with its display and there is also an edge version of the handset expected. This means we could expect the second generation Note Edge from the Korean tech giant ahead by this September.

source: ETNews

Samsung Display reported to be working for flexible displays for the Note 5 and Galaxy S7

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 rumored to be coming with a 16MP OIS camera, flexible display and premium metal body

This September, at the IFA event in Berlin we could possibly see the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 breaking the covers officially. The Galaxy Note 4 is rumored to come with many novel features for the first time even though there is no leaked image of the device appearing on the web till date. Based on the recent reports coming from Korean publication ET News, the Galaxy Note 4 is considered to come with a premium metal body design along with a 16MP primary with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a flexible display (Probably the YOUM display unveiled earlier this year).

However, the same report says that the Galaxy Note 4 will also be launched in a plastic version apart from the metal-body. This means that users will have two options to choose in between.

The most exciting news about the Note 4, however, has got to be about the flexible screen. Last year’s Note 3 came with a 5.7-inch screen, which is already fairly huge, and this report says nothing about the likely size of the Note 4, but it does mention that Samsung has ramped up production of flexible panels by 50%, anticipating the launch.

One more thing that has been revealed in this report is the Galaxy Note 4 is likely to sport a 16MP primary with features like OIS. The report shows that that the Korean giant will use its own sensor used in its recently launched Galaxy S5 where OIS is considered to be a new addition. Here is a video of the ‘YOUM’ display released earlier this year.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 rumored to be coming with a 16MP OIS camera, flexible display and premium metal body

Apple May Come Up with a New Phone featuring Flexible Display with an Integrated Solar Panel

Right now solar power is one of the sustainable sources to overcome the increasing power needs, especially power needs while you are on move. Already many large corporations are using solar power to an extent to fuel their datacenters. It’s been spoken for quite some time now about the possibilities of powering our personal gadgets using solar energy, but nothing has really come up yet. There are solar powered calculators and keyboards exist but that are less power consuming devices, how about a power hungry iPhone? How would it feel if you get to keep your iPhone charged all day long without connecting to power socket? Yeah, it would be great and it looks the moment might be just around the corner.

Apple is trying to make a touch based smartphone with an integrated solar panel right in it. A newly updated patent is evidence that Apple is hard at work to make the next big move.

U.S. Patent No. 8,730,179 is for an “Integrated touch sensor and solar assembly.” Apple now has the patent that would let it to integrate a solar panel underneath iPhone’s or any smarthphone’s touch screen. It’s such an impressive piece of technology and most of us might have not even given a thought about such an idea. The fact is that Apple has got a patent for it.

The Patent Abstract

“Integrated touch sensor and solar panel stack-up configurations that may be used on portable devices, particularly handheld portable devices such as a media player or phone are disclosed. The solar cell stack-up configurations may include one or more touch sensor layers and one or more solar cell layers. By integrating both the touch sensors and the solar cell layers into the same stack-up, surface area on the portable device may be conserved. The solar panel may be mounted face down or otherwise obstructed by a touch sensor or other component. In this configuration, the device may include light channels that allow light into the device and direct the light around the component and to the solar panel. A parabolic reflector may be used to direct the light.”

Hearing that, we already thinking what a solar powered iPhone 6 would be able to do in your hands. The patent illustrates a solar panel resided below not just a touch screen but also a flexible display. Yeah, that would be jaw dropping stuff.

Patent for a touch screen with integrated solar panel was originally filed back in 2008; however the original patent’s updated revision was awarded last Tuesday May 20, 2014. Now Apple can make such a thing a reality without any fear of anyone coming up with an obscure patent and demand for a millions of dollars and that would be no barrier anymore for them to try.

The patent does not guarantee anything and there may not be any such product in near future. Said that, let’s take a moment to think about the idea that might set us free from relying of power outlets to charger our smartphones very often in the future. At least, when there is sunlight.

Apple May Come Up with a New Phone featuring Flexible Display with an Integrated Solar Panel