UPDATED 13:00 EDT / MAY 27 2013

5 Cool Concept Designs of Wearable, Flexible Smartphones

The next generation of mobile devices seems to be wearable computing.  This could be something like the heads-up display featured in the upcoming Google Glass, or something that you can wear on your wrist like the rumored iWatch.  One technological advance that could help wearable computing skyrocket is flexible screens, a development that many manufacturers are currently working on.

Indeed, the technology needed for creating a flexible wearable device already exists.  Corning has the Willow Glass, a type of bendable and durable screen, while Samsung has the Youm, a flexible OLED display, and UCLA is working on a stretchable OLED screen.

The possibilities seem endless, sparking the imagination of some pretty interesting concept devices. We’ve gathered some cool concept designs that have emerged in anticipation of curved displays for the future of wearable technology.

Sony

 

This concept design for a flexible wearable computer was designed by Hiromi Kiriki, looking like something from the movie Tron Legacy.  It’s a smartphone, or a tablet or even a personal computer, as it gives you the ability to perform various tasks with its flexible and stretchable screen.

.

.

This concept device is sleek with its black and neon blue color scheme, but if you’re more into color, the green and white version looks peaceful while the pink and white caters to anyone’s feminine side.

It can be rolled up for when you want to wear it on your wrist, or flattened for tabletop functionality.  When rolled up, it will still give you the information you need and possibly provide some basic smartphone activities such as SMS, phone calls, status updates, or just simply giving you the date and time.

Samsung

 

Designed by Erik Campbell, this wearable phone looks like it came from outer space because of the tactile keypad and memory alloy articulation.  It still looks fashionable if you like wearing metal accessories, plus the screen is slidable that reveals a keyboard, though based on the orientation of the screen, you’d have a hard time using the keyboard while wearing it.

Philips

 

Dubbed as Fluid, this flexible gadget reminds me of a slap bracelet.  It’s flat when you want to it be spread out, and bendable when you need to wear it.  This concept was created by Brazilian designer Dinard da Mata.  Because of its size, gaming might be fun using this device.

ASUS

 

The ASUS WaveFace was introduced at CES 2010 which makes the Apple iWatch rumor look like the copycat.  It features a screen that seems to be alive with waves of information, and is gesture controlled.  It’s part of the ASUS Advanced Project 2010, which also showcases the Waveface Light, a flexible tablet, and the Waveface Casa, which is a home information and entertainment center.

LIMBO

 

This flexible smartphone concept seems to cater to more outdoorsy people.  It doesn’t fully envelop your wrist, but it comes with a wrist cradle and colorful, flexible plates that support the device itself, as well as attach to the cradle.  You can use the flexible smartphone on its own or attach it to the cradle to so it can stand on its own.  It has the specs of a low to mid-end smartphone.


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU