Technology is cool. There is no denying that, at least in my book. While in most recent times the tech advances have been to the detriment in many ways to the longevity of print in certain channels, this situation is actually quite interesting.
At Graphics of The America’s last week I held a panel discussion about Design being the bridge between Print and Digital. It was very enlightening to hear the Digitals discuss their views on things to consider when looking at the big picture for something as simple as a logo, now way more complicated considering how many channels the design may have to cross, sizes it will be seen it, and even how it would need to translate into an icon for an APP or social media. During that conversation, Penny Stamp mentioned this phone and really threw a wrench into the conversation: “how do you design for something that is transparent?” It’s a puzzle indeed, and one that will potentially come to fruition and need to be solved if this phone does enter the marketplace.
My interest in this phone is also a puzzle as far as how it will effect mobile advertising. With marketing dollars flowing in that direction and away from print, will this phone actually change things back to our favor? Technology is cool as I said, but at a certain point you get SO far away from where you started that you have to circle back… and this might just be it. Let’s hope transparent tablets are next, and then we can all get back to working on READABLE print ads and marketing materials!
An incredible working concept for a transparent mobile phone has provided a glimpse into – an through – the future of consumer tech.
Polytron Technologies has unveiled a new look at its ‘Switchable Glass’ technology – a conductive OLED screen that uses liquid crystal molecules to display text and images.
The screen uses electric current to align these molecules into images on screen.
The result is a screen which is completely transparent, but is still able to show clear, colour pictures.
Polytron told Mobile Geeks that a completed device would have touchscreens on the front and back, and hidden microphones and speakers, and in future maybe even transparent batteries.
The concept is pretty astounding – even if other elements of the phone (including circuitry and the SD card) aren’t transparent.
For now the device is purely a concept, though Polytron think it will make it into a consumer device as soon as the screen is up to scratch. They’re also working on a tablet design, according to The Verge.
“It will happen near the end of 2013,” general manager Sam Yu told Macworld. “Trust me.”
