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A smartphone with transparent screen has been a dream for many geeks for quite some time now. And it’s apparently closer to reality thanks to Taiwan-based Polytron Technologies, which has been demonstrating a transparent multi-touch display that should turn this dream into reality. Their technology, called Switchable Glass, is a conductive OLED that relies on liquid crystal molecules to display images. When the phone is powered off, these molecules form a white cloudy composition, making the phone look a piece of glass (with some non-transparent plastic/metal parts around).
However, it’s important to add that the prototype unit isn’t totally transparent. SD card and SIM card slots, microphone, camera and batteries are all visible, and some of those elements will likely have to be hidden bellow some plastic for the time being. Also interesting to note is that in its finished state, the phone would feature dual-sided multi-touch displays, potentially opening new UI design possibilities.
The problem is that we’ll have to wait for a little longer to see this technology in our smartphones. The prototype device features no software or operating system, but Polytron is in talks with major smartphone makers, as we speak. Hopefully we’ll get to see some demo of this technology at this year’s Mobile World Congress when we’ll get back to you with more details. Stay tuned…
[Via: TheVerge, MobileGeeks]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
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