LG's 15-inch OLED

via Gizmodo by Mark Wilson

Have you seen Sony's 11-inch OLED TV in person? The screen is fine and everything, but its design is awkward�as if vomited up by an engineer and never reassessed. LG's 15-inch OLED, however, is at least trying.

The design is both clever and functional, with the display's ports tucked behind the monitor in some sort of cross between a folded piece of paper and a photo frame. In turn, the necessarily hardware becomes its own stand, and the display can tilt, too (not that the viewing angle on most OLEDs is necessarily lacking).

LG's premium OLED will be released in Korea this November. And don't be surprised if/when you see a $2000+ pricetag on the thing.

Samsung's Animated, Flexible OLED Passport

via Gizmodo by John Herrman on 6/19/09

Announced last year, this technology sounded more than a little bit pie-in-the-sky. A flexible OLED passport? With video capabilities? And it's powered wirelessly? Yet here it is, captured in full sight, on video.

And I'll be damned if it doesn't work perfectly. Alongside a static picture, this e-passport displays a rotating photographic avatar when placed near a power source. OLED-Info thinks the card is pulling power from an RFID reader, but given that the display is full-fledged 320x240, 260k color OLED panel that's playing video, I tend to think there's a more powerful type of inductive charging going on here.

Samsung Pixon 12: The First 12-Megapixel Cameraphone

via�Gizmodo�by John Herrman on 6/1/09

Fortunately, the Pixon's 12-megapixel claim to greatness, which guarantees younothing at all�except for the industry's largest file sizes, is complemented by some decent specs, starting with a 3.1" AMOLED touchscreen, 3G and FM radio.

Obviously, though, the flash-equipped camera is the star of the show here, and while relentless megapixel one-upmanship is�fruitless�and annoying, the Pixon looks like it'll be a decent pocket shooter despite its narrow obsession. Touch autofocus lets you choose a focal point with a finger tap, after which the camera will automatically keep focus on its subject. Shooting speed is quicker than average, clocking in at about two seconds per shot. A bevy of online photo services are supported out of the box, and video recording, though not HD, records at a respectable 720 x 480.

The 150MB internal storage is glaringly weak for a camera-centric phone, though I suspect, as is usually the case, that carriers will bundle SD cards when the Pixon finally goes on sale, which will be in June in Europe, and August elsewhere�though not�necessarily�here. Sorry,�Idou! [OLED Info�and�Akihabara News]

Kyocera's flexible, folding phone concept

via�Core77�on 4/14/09

[photo credit:�Jeffrey Sass]

Kyocera's EOS folding concept phone incorporates a flexible OLED screen, changing its form factor from a clamshell into something more closely resembling a wallet or clutch-purse. Explains Kyocera industrial designer Susan McKinney:

The concept Eos envisions a future where we have a more humanistic relationship with our phones. Appealing to our haptic senses, a soft, semi-rigid polymer skin surrounds a flexible OLED display. The metaphor of a "living" skin was used for its notions of protection and constant evolution, providing a heightened user experience.

Shape memory allows keys to morph up from its surface when needed and fade away when not in use. The flexibility of the screen allows for greater adaptability of form and interaction � it maintains a compact shape (the size of a small wallet) for simple phone calls, and unfolds to reveal a large widescreen display. The device feeds off of our physical interaction with it, translating kinetic energy into an electric charge via an array of nano-scale piezoelectric generators. The more we interact with Eos, the more energy it creates - without using batteries.

Though the Kyocera future concepts are still in their early design stages, the design teams from San Diego and Bangalore are exploring many different ways and possibilities of infusing some of the concept ideas into their near future lineup of phones and devices.