Bend me, shape me: Flexible phones 'out by 2013'

By Katia Moskvitch Technology reporter, BBC News

Imagine treating your phone like a piece of paper.

Roll it up. Drop it. Squish it in your backpack. Step on it - without any damage.

Researchers are working on just such handsets - razor-thin, paper-like and bendable.

There have already been prototypes, attracting crowds at gadget shows.

But rumours abound that next year will see the launch of the first bendy phone. Numerous companies are working on the technology - LG, Philips, Sharp, Sony and Nokia among them - although reports suggest that South Korean phone manufacturer Samsung will be the first to deliver.
Nokia Morph concept phone Morph is one of the bendable prototypes Nokia has been working on

Samsung favours smartphones with so-called flexible OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology, and is confident that they will be "very popular among consumers worldwide".

Their screens will be "foldable, rollable, wearable and more, [and] will allow for a high degree of durability through their use of a plastic substrate that is thinner, lighter and more flexible than… conventional LCD technology," says a Samsung spokesperson.
Paperless world

There are other technologies that could make your smartphone bendy. After all, the concept - creating flexible electronics and assembling them on equally flexible plastic - has been touted since the 1960s, when the first flexible solar cell arrays appeared.

catchyit : bendable phones ... that will be cool, cost is always an issue

Sharp to launch world's thinnest 4K monitor for about US$5,500

The Japanese company said the February launch will be aimed at graphic designers, architects and other professionals

by Jay Alabaster

Sharp will start selling the industry's thinnest 4K monitor, a 32-inch LCD screen that is just 3.5mm thick, in February.

The company said the new monitor will go on sale for about ¥450,000 (US$5,500) in Japan. It uses Sharp's new IGZO technology and can display up to 3,840 by 2,160 pixels, the equivalent of four full-HD screens.

"We are hoping to launch around the same time globally," said Sharp spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama. "This is aimed at computer designers, architects, medical users -- those type of people."

The screen will have two HDMI connectors, allowing users to connect a PC and home video equipment, and two small speakers. It weighs about 7.5 kilograms.

Sharp is promoting its IGZO display technology, named after the indium gallium zinc oxide semiconductor on which it is based, across a wide range of devices. The company will soon launch its first smartphones and tablets with the technology in Japan, and has been promoting IGZO because it uses less power than current LCD screens and can prolong battery life in mobile devices.

The Osaka-based company said using IGZO in the new monitor allowed for an extra-thin design, as the technology requires less backlighting than other methods and can be "edge lit" to avoid bulk. Sharp began mass producing IGZO screens earlier this year.

Global TV makers are steadily rolling out 4K televisions, which are named after their horizontal resolution, although little content exists for the appliances. Sony has said that this week it will reveal "the world's first 4K Ultra HD delivery solution" and offer exclusive Hollywood content to buyers of its TVs.

Screens that work both as TVs and computer monitors could be a mid-term solution until the market catches up, as users will still be able to take advantage of the high resolution in their work.

TVs that can handle 4K content, or are equipped with technology to upgrade existing content, are still very expensive. In August, LG said its new 4K TV is priced at US$22,000.

Earlier this year Sharp announced a high-definition 80-inch LCD TV for US$12,000

REMARK : impressive technology, so we should be expecting sharp phones and tablets. Everybody wants a taste of  the mobile technology market. All that money for a TV? gosh, will i be able to see heaven on it?

Apple, HTC settle patent suits worldwide

Apple, HTC settle patent suits worldwide
Nov 10, 2012 08:48 pm | IDG News Service

The smartphone makers have signed a patent cross-licensing agreement that ends their conflict

by Martyn Williams


Apple and Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC have settled all of their outstanding patent disputes, they said late Saturday.

The settlement includes a 10-year agreement under which the companies will license current and future patents from each other, they said in a brief statement. The terms of the settlement are confidential and were not disclosed.

The patent dispute between the companies, one of many being fought in the mobile device industry, began in March 2010 when Apple filed suits at the International Trade Commission and U.S. District Court for Delaware accusing HTC of patent infringement.

HTC hit back with its own lawsuit and the fight escalated.

The top executives from each company provided much the same commentary in the joint statement.

Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, said, "HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation," while Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC. We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation."

Apple was the world's number two smartphone maker in the second quarter, accounting for 16.7 percent of shipments, according to research from IDC. HTC was in fourth place with a share of 5.8 percent, IDC said.

Finally, a rest to the patent suit wars

Flashback Malware Puts Apple in Security Spotlight: Experts Weigh In

Apr 13, 2012 08:00 pm | PC World
Increased market share coupled with Apple's lack of transparency are largely to blame for an uptick in Mac security problems, say experts.
by Howard Baldwin

It was a busy week for Apple malware hunters fighting the Flashback Trojan horse, which has infected between 270,000 and 600,000 Macs. A bevy of tools to find and remove the malware debuted this week. And two days after promising to release a detection and removal tool, Apple finally offered its own fix.

Now, as the dust settles on what is considered to be the largest Mac malware threat to date, experts have started pointing fingers at Apple as being partially to blame for the scope of the Flashback malware infection. They argue that if Apple were more transparent about security issues--and if it had promptly released a Flashback fix--the extent of the damage could have been smaller. Also contributing to the magnitude of the infections is a boost in the number of Mac OS users, they say.

"When the installed base [of an OS] is 10 percent or less, the bad guys don't care," says Peter James, spokesperson for Mac antivirus and security product vendor Intego. The bigger the user base, the more attractive the target, he says. Web analytics firm NetMarketShare.com estimates that the Mac installed base has jumped to 13 percent in the United States, and research firm Gartner says that Apple has become the fastest-growing U.S. computer maker--overtaking Acer and Toshiba--over the past year.

Apple's Image of Invulnerability--Gone

Perhaps surprisingly, James and other security experts say that Apple needs to look to Microsoft when it comes to handling OS security breaches. For years Apple has mocked Microsoft for its track record in dealing with Windows malware, viruses, and weekly patches. Now the tables have turned, says Larry Ponemon of the Ponemon Institute.

Ponemon and others say the Flashback Trojan horse is the final nail in the coffin for Apple's stellar security image. He says that although Microsoft juggles a much larger number of threats, it does a better job of warning customers and delivering fixes.

We have heard dire "Macpocalypse" warnings before. Last year Apple's sterling security image was tarnished with the advent of the Mac Defender malware program. Before that, in 2006, the focus was on the Leap.A virus, the first ever virus for Mac OS X. (For a great short history of Apple Mac malware, check out NakedSecurity.com's timeline from 1982 to 2010.) But this time, security experts insist, Apple's security bragging rights are gone for good.

NB : here i was, thinking the mac is impenetratable