Motorola’s Adaptive Display Concept was showcased at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Smartphones bend in various ways.
Arjun Karpal | CNBC
See-through screens, phones that wrap around your wrist, expandable displays – these are all concept technologies gadget makers showed off this week aimed at standing out from competitors in the cutthroat hardware market.
At Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest mobile trade show, held in Barcelona, some of the world’s biggest companies showed off unusual screen technologies. Electronics companies have continually improved certain aspects of their devices, such as battery life and cameras, but in recent years, the focus has shifted to display innovation, especially with the advent of flip phones.
Screens have also become a focal point, given the increasing amount of stuff on our devices.
Many MWC displays also come from companies looking to create buzz around their products and compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told CNBC that Apple and Samsung’s overwhelming dominance in connected devices means that other companies will have to do a lot to differentiate their products to attract consumers. It means you have to work hard.”
“The result is a proliferation of weird and wonderful new designs, including wrist-worn phones, rollable screens, and virtual 3D displays.”
Here are some of the screen technologies on display at MWC.
Tecno, a brand owned by Chinese company Transsion and currently one of the world’s largest smartphone players, has unveiled a device with an expandable screen.
Press the button on the top of the main unit to enlarge the screen horizontally.
Called the Tecno Phantom Ultimate, it’s a concept device for now, and there’s no word on whether it will ever be released.
Tecno Phantom Ultimate has a display with an expandable screen.
At MWC, Motorola showed off a phone that can be bent in different ways.
One use the company showed was a way to make the phone fit around your wrist and match your clothes.
The smartphone’s interface adapts depending on which direction the smartphone turns.
Motorola’s Adaptive Display Concept smartphone can be worn around the user’s wrist. The phone can generate a background to match what the user is wearing.
Arjun Karpal | CNBC
China’s Lenovo has unveiled a prototype laptop with a see-through display.
The world’s largest PC maker showed how an object can be placed behind the screen and detected by the device’s camera. Information about the object is displayed on the screen.
Lenovo’s concept laptop features a see-through screen.
Arjun Karpal | CNBC
ZTE unveiled its second generation tablet that displays 3D images. Usually, as is the case with his 3D movies in theaters, some kind of glasses are required to view the 3D images.
However, this screen produces 3D images without glasses.
When CNBC looked at the device, the quality of the 3D images depended on the angle from which you viewed the screen.