One day, you may be able to fold, roll and stretch your smartphone, turning the device into a tablet, laptop or TV -- whatever the situation requires.Sounds farfetched? South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG are already working on this kind of futuristic flexible display technology. Samsung said last month that some of its first designs for device manufacturers are expected by the end of next year. A finished product for consumers would come sometime after that."Personally, I believe that design innovation using a flexible displays will be one of the most important factors in the future," Samsung Display executive Chang Hoon Lee said at a New York investor forum in November. With smartphone upgrades only showing modest improvements year over year, many analysts and tech executives see flexible displays as a potential leap in innovation that could provide a spark to the industry. The ability to stretch and roll a device could change how we use our phones, and may finally … [Read more...] about Ahead of the curve: Samsung, LG and the bendable phone
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LED LCD vs. OLED: TV display technologies compared
For the last decade or so, TV buyers were forced to answer the question "LCD or plasma?" with their hard-earned dollars. Now plasma has been removed from consideration. Pretty much every sold today TV is based on good old LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, whether manufacturers choose to call them LED TVs, SUHD TVs, Super UHD TVs or something even more futuristic-sounding like Quantum Dot LED TVs (QLED). The exception is OLED. Televisions based on Organic Light Emitting Diode display technology are fundamentally different from LCD TVs. The most basic difference is that each pixel provides its own illumination, while all of the pixels in an LCD TV are illuminated by an LED backlight. That difference leads to all kinds of picture quality effects, some of which favor LCD, but most of which benefit OLED. Related Info How HDR works What is OLED and what can it do for your TV? HDMI 2.1: What you need to know The first OLED … [Read more...] about LED LCD vs. OLED: TV display technologies compared
Forget foldable phones. Samsung’s Bixby assistant is about to get smarter
Samsung's Bixby digital assistant is getting a boost in capabilities -- but the question is whether it's too late.The South Korean company on Wednesday will kick off its two-day developer conference in San Francisco, an annual event that reflects the company's big push to get developers to make software specifically for its devices. In the past, that's meant making apps that work on the edge of Samsung's curved smartphone displays or take advantage of its S Pen stylus. This year, that focus turns to Bixby and artificial intelligence. While the prospect of a foldable smartphone -- the long rumored Galaxy F -- may draw eyeballs to Samsung's 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) keynote, that's more a tease of what's to come. The meat of the presentation will be all about the now: getting Bixby smarter. The consumer electronics giant could share more information about the Bixby-powered Galaxy Home smart speaker that it unveiled in August, including its sales date. Now playing: Watch this: Samsung … [Read more...] about Forget foldable phones. Samsung’s Bixby assistant is about to get smarter
Samsung’s foldable phone is real and opens into a tablet
Samsung last Wednesday offered the first glimpse of its upcoming foldable phone, saying it'll be mass produced "in the coming months." Justin Denison, Samsung senior vice president of mobile marketing, showed off the phone, which is a tablet when it's fully opened and then a phone when it's closed. It uses a new display technology called Infinity Flex Display that lets you open and close the device over and over without any degradation. "The Infinity Flex Display represents an entirely new mobile platform," Denison said. "We've been living in a world where the size of your screen can only be as large as the device itself. We've added a new dimension to help you browse, watch and multitask like never before." Now playing: Watch this: Galaxy X foldable phone FAQ: Specs, release date, price 3:02 The device he showed isn't the final product. It's likely the phone Samsung releases will be sleeker and have smaller bezels than the device Denison demonstrated. "The … [Read more...] about Samsung’s foldable phone is real and opens into a tablet
How has NASA improved TV technology?
Astronaut Image Gallery The broadcast of the first moon landing in 1969 is an example of NASA's impact on the field of television. See more astronaut pictures. NASA/Getty Images On July 20, 1969, viewers witnessed one of the most compelling live news reports in the history of television: American astronauts disembarking Apollo 11 and taking their first steps on the surface of the moon. This broadcast was a product of over a decade of technological development in TV accelerated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Let's look at how NASA has improved TV technology, starting with those early years. World War II spurred significant advancements in television in the United States. When the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, though, the U.S. government was motivated to prove superiority over the Soviets in the space race. President Eisenhower signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Since then, people worldwide have … [Read more...] about How has NASA improved TV technology?