The world's first transparent smartphone, Polytron Technologies, is no longer a concept. The world's first phone with a transparent display: Explay Crystal A completely transparent smartphone
It was released by Polytron, which is located in Taiwan. Before the presentation of this development, the company did not have a special one, but the company was able to distinguish itself and enter the market of modern devices with its own idea.
The transparency of the phone is achieved through the implementation of special Switchable Glass technology using OLED, built on the basis of nano-components responsible for transmitting images to the display. The device is completely touch-sensitive. While the molecules are rearranging and forming a matte effect. Thanks to the implemented approach, the company manages to achieve the ability to use a two-sided touch screen. The components that transmit images to the screen are invisible to the human eye. However, the phone is not completely transparent - on the bottom of the gadget there is a board for a flash drive and an earpiece. At the top there is a camera and a speaker for sound playback.
The price of a device from a Taiwanese company can reach $1000 per copy.
Developments
One of the first developments based on transparent glass technology was the Lenovo Glass Phone. The device is not fully touchscreen and its lower part is still covered with a plastic case and keyboard. However, according to the developers, the device will have a touch screen, two active SIM cards and a built-in viewfinder with a 1.3 megapixel matrix.
Most modern transparent phones remain concepts, despite the attempts of global manufacturers.
Unlike most other devices, the LG GD900 Glass Phone was finally released. However, it cannot be called completely transparent, since only the keyboard is the glass part of the mobile phone. The device was released in a “slider” form factor and has a 3-inch touch screen, as well as a proprietary S-Class interface for Android.
Samsung, which has already announced several times the active development of a completely transparent device, has not yet launched a completely glass gadget into mass production. The corporation only managed to patent the technology of a transparent double-sided touch screen. Finnish manufacturer Nokia announced the development of two transparent phone models, one of which should have not only a transparent screen, but also the ability to change the curve of the case. But to date, none of the Finnish company’s ideas have yet been realized.
So that the device can easily fit into a wide range of consumers, and not just satisfy the tastes of geeks and electronic maniacs who are ready to use any craziest device, as long as it is not the same as everyone else’s. Naturally, first of all, fresh solutions were expected from the smartphone segment, but it turned out that it was worth looking in the other direction.
No one could have imagined that changes could occur in the mobile phone market, especially since all mobile phones have a standard form factor. But no, thanks to the efforts of Explay, the mobile phone market has come to life again. Evidence of this is the new device from this manufacturer - mobile phone, which became a breakthrough in the mobile phone market.
Explay Crystal
With all the richness of the mobile device market, the release of a phone with transparent screen can still be considered a pioneering, innovative solution. Needless to say, the first impression when looking at the Explay Crystal is simply stunning. The design does not leave even a seasoned user indifferent, but we’ll talk about this a little later. It is also worth noting that, unlike most manufacturers, Explay marketers do not try to squeeze maximum economic benefit out of a new attribute, no matter how attractive it may be. So, before us is Explay Crystal, let's look at it in more detail.
Exterior
The Explay Crystal phone is equipped with a transparent screen, of course, this is the first thing you notice and what you want to say first. From an aesthetic point of view, there is essentially nothing to add to this; this solution speaks for itself; overall, the phone looks extremely stylish. Let's just say that the screen is framed by a narrow chrome-plated aluminum frame, and in the upper part there is a small speaker. Concerning technical characteristics screen, they are as follows: a TFT display has a diagonal of 2.4”, a resolution of 240x320 pixels and support for 262,000 colors.
Under the screen, of course, there is a keyboard. It looks quite typical and restrained, which is quite within the framework of common sense: for one device one unusual solution is quite enough; further flirting with the configuration can make a repulsive impression. The button layout is standard - the top left button calls up the “Main Menu”, the top right button calls up the “Contact List”. Between them there is a block of arrows for navigation, in the center of which there is a round button used as an “Enter” or “Play/Pause” command in the audio player; you can also use it to take a photo or start/stop video recording.
We had no complaints about the quality of the keyboard; the buttons are large, slightly convex, with a short, soft and silent stroke, they sit tightly in their sockets and do not wobble or become loose during active use.
Classic all-in-one Explay Crystal
On the left side of the mobile phone there are two connectors: microUSB - for connecting to a PC and for charging the battery; by the way, when connected to a computer, the phone can be used as a webcam; in addition, headphones supplied with the phone are connected to it, and slot for microSD cards up to 16 GB. Otherwise, the Explay Crystal faces are devoid of connectors and interfaces. On back panel I found a place for a 1.3 MP photo/video camera.
Explay Crystal dimensions in length, width and depth are 122x48.3x13.5 mm, and weight - 125 g. When it goes on sale, the phone will be available in three color options: silver, matte gold, and black.
Interior design and functionality
The software interface of the Explay Crystal phone is no less surprising than the exterior of the device. The design of the main menu is another design highlight. Explay developers decided to abandon the standard view of the main menu - a set of static icons. Instead, icons appear in front of the user, floating in cheerful multi-colored clouds like balloons suspended above the recognizable outline of a modern city. Next, when you select one or another application, it opens standard list actions in the form of a regular drop-down list. In short, despite the strangeness and unusualness of the main menu, it is quite easy to use. The impressive visual effect is harmoniously combined with an intuitive algorithm of actions.
Transparent Explay Crystal display does not interfere with work, the image is visible in any lighting
In terms of functionality, Explay Crystal provides all possible multimedia and communication functions. In number multimedia capabilities includes an audio/video player, photo/video camera with the ability to post-process images and record video in 3GP format, voice recorder, e-reader, FM radio. Of course, you can’t say much about the quality of pictures taken with a camera. Its purpose is purely utilitarian, to capture something and then calm down, without thinking about further sending photographs to competitions and magazines. But the audio player is quite decent both in configuration and in the range of playable formats.
Communication capabilities are represented by a standard set of applications for Explay phones: MSN, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, Skype. To transfer data from one mobile device to another, you can use wireless network Bluetooth v3.0.
User Experience
Using the Explay Crystal device left a purely positive impression. Thanks to the familiar form factor, ergonomic configuration and balanced proportions, the phone fits nicely in your hand. The phone isn't too heavy, but it's not completely weightless either. All functional buttons are located in such a way that the user can easily control the device with one thumb, whether typing SMS messages or shooting with a video camera.
The golden version of Explay Crystal is more suitable for girls
The color saturation and color gamut of the screen look not only satisfactory, but even quite rich, although somewhat infantile due to the animation used - floating clouds, spinning colored mills, etc.
Another positive point that I would like to note is the process of entering SMS messages. In previous reviews, we noted that Explay phones use their own typing protocol, and it was not the most thoughtful in the world. In Explay Crystal this disease has been overcome. Messages are entered using the most common method. The last positive feature of the Explay Crystal phone is, of course, the use of two active SIM cards. Needless to say, this is convenient, especially when dividing the list of contacts into work and personal, or when frequently moving from one region to another, with an eye to using the services of local operators.
Explay Crystal supports 2 active SIM cards
Bottom line
To summarize, let’s say that in general the Explal Crystal device turned out to be very interesting. A beautiful design solution that has not become boring to users, a wide range of communication capabilities, multimedia solutions, a minimum number of interface connectors on the case, convenient functionality in a familiar and recognizable mobile phone form factor, two active SIM cards - all this speaks in favor of Explay Crystal. In addition, do not forget about the price: according to the manufacturer, when it goes on sale, Explay Crystal will cost about 7,000 rubles. In a word, the only drawback we discovered (very conditional) is glare on the screen when used outdoors in sunny weather, which, by the way, affects almost everyone mobile devices from phones to laptops.
Transparent Lenovo Glass Phone by Yanko Design
Designer Ryan Ma presented to the public a couple of years ago the concept of a transparent Lenovo phone Glass Phone. Despite the fact that Ryan is an American of Japanese descent, and Yanko Design is a Czech design studio, the Lenovo Glass Phone, as conceived by the designer, is equipped not only with a transparent display, but also with a touchscreen display. Don't forget that Lenovo is a Taiwanese company (and Taiwan is part of China), and therefore the Lenovo Glass Phone is like a real one. chinese phone should have been equipped with two active SIM cards, a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera with autofocus and an integrated projector.
However, Lenovo's transparent phone remained at the concept level and did not go into production.
Transparent phone LG GD900 Glass Phone
Unlike our previous patient, this device saw the light of day. LG GD900 in the form of a working prototype was presented to the public during last year's Mobile World Congress Show 2009.
LG GD900 is made in a slider form factor, has a thickness of 1.34 cm, and is equipped with a glass retractable keyboard that is illuminated when opened. In addition, the designers equipped the GD 900 with a 3" display, and software interface used the proprietary S-Class 3D interface, first used in the LG KM800 Arena phone.
The glass slider in the GD900 is touch-sensitive, with a pressure effect (the phone vibrates when you press a “key”), and in addition, it can recognize certain handwritten characters and command triggers (for example, the letter M drawn with a finger launches an MP3 player).
A 4-band GSM module (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) is responsible for communications in the GD900; the device has support for third generation networks (HSDPA data transfer standard at a speed of 7.2 Mb/s), Wi-Fi and an 8MP camera with auto -focus and digital zoom. The device is freely sold in markets around the world at a price equivalent to 11,000 - 14,000 rubles.
The LG GD900 transparent phone comes with a Bluetooth headset made in the same style as the device itself.
Transparent Fluid Phone by Mac Funanizu
In general, the physical implementation of any of the transparent phone concepts can cause a stir in the world of gadgets. Such an explosion could be, for example, a series of Fluid Phone concepts from Tokyo designer Mac Funamizu.
Any of the Fliud Phones is completely transparent and is also backlit. According to Mac, the transparent Fluid Phone should be controlled only with a finger. In our opinion, this is very convenient, but completely unaesthetic.
However, despite the fact that the transparent phones of the Fluid Phone series will mercilessly “get greasy” even in rubber gloves, they can still, if implemented, become an indispensable attribute successful business, reclining on your office desk or as a stylish decoration for your home interior.
Transparent Slider by Chris Ovens
The Canadian designer, it seems, decided not to follow his own cunning path, but to bring Mak Fumanizu’s idea closer to life, while improving appearance LG GD900 to the level of LG Prada or Samsung Armani.
Indeed, his transparent phone is equipped with a huge touch screen, features a slide-out, backlit, transparent keyboard and a premium, stylish design.
It's just a pity that Chris Ovens' transparent phone remained in the computer mockup stage.
Transparent N EC Future Phone
NEC, after the debut of the Nokia 888 elastic phone, decided to remind the public that the trendsetter in mobile world actually not Nokia at all.
The NEC Future Phone concept, like the Nokia 888, is completely flexible, but also transparent. The only thing that is absolutely unclear is where NEC engineers hid all the electronics in the absolutely transparent body of the phone. It is also unclear whether this very transparency and flexibility is the reason why the concept has a monochrome display.
Samsung will release a transparent AMOLED phone
But the Samsung corporation, according to the Geekoid resource, is ready to conquer the world and kill Apple iPhone HD in embryo. To do this, it already has a completely transparent AMOLED display, and in the laboratories of the Korean giant a working concept for such a transparent phone is almost ready Windows Phone 7.
Whether this is so, or whether Geekoid is collectively fantasizing, only time will tell.
Today, completely transparent phones exist only as computer models, and the only serial device that fits the definition of a “transparent phone” is the LG GD900 Glass Phone.
Most likely, the first serial transparent smartphone (or rather, a smartphone with a transparent screen) will be released by the Chinese, and not by giants like Samsung or Apple.
Despite the fact that leading brands have repeatedly shown prototypes of transparent smartphones at exhibitions, none of them have yet reached the assembly line.
And the whole point is that the giants of the mobile industry, as a rule, are not ready for bold experiments: they need to “measure ten times”, calculate profits and losses.
Any bold concept ahead of its time, embodied in a series, is almost certainly a waste of money, at best strengthening the reputation of the manufacturer, but nothing more.
Most consumers are very conservative, so neither Apple nor LG or Samsung are willing to truly risk money on projects with a dubious future.
However, such an overly rational approach can backfire on them. A classic example - almost sunk into oblivion mobile business Nokia (once the market leader), which was not ready for radical changes.
It’s a different matter for small Chinese startups and local “second-tier” brands, which have been showing much greater efficiency in terms of introducing innovations for several years now.
Moreover, the Celestial Empire is now experiencing a real boom in modern technology, and there is a great demand for bold high-tech gadgets at an affordable price.
Vivo: prototype of a smartphone with a transparent screen
In July this year, the Chinese Vivo company presented a working concept of a smartphone with a transparent screen. Moreover, the manufacturer really promises flagship specifications devices. In particular, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset and 6 Gb of RAM.
Conceptual transparent smartphone from ZUK
This is not the first time that the Chinese startup ZUK, which is a subsidiary of Lenovo, has proposed bold solutions that the parent company is not yet ready to implement.
The most daring undertaking may be the project of a transparent smartphone, a working prototype of which was recently presented to the public.
In this case, the device consists of a translucent display, which, if desired, can become completely opaque, and the rest of the hardware is contained in a compact attachment to which the screen is connected.
Why is this even necessary?
Of course, a completely transparent smartphone, or at least with a transparent screen, looks very impressive and evokes the feeling of a “gadget of the future.” However, what is the benefit of this? practical use for consumers?
The most obvious use case for the advantage of a transparent screen is to create augmented reality applications on a fundamentally new level than solutions like Pokemon Go currently offer.
What do the “market giants” do?
Samsung is in no hurry to release transparent smartphones, but at the same time this year it introduced innovative transparent and mirror displays that can be used in products of this kind.
Koreans currently see the practical application of this technology in integration with the RealSense 3D system from Intel, which will allow, for example, trying on clothes in a store without putting them on.
Apple also does not want to completely lag behind progress. At the beginning of summer, a company from Cupertino patented a prototype of a device with a transparent screen that will have active touch surfaces on both sides.
This patent has the number 9367093 and is designated as “Transparent electronic device" The remaining elements are connected by a flexible board. The application was submitted back in 2014 and approved this year.
Enthusiastic fans immediately began talking about the imminent release of a “transparent iPhone,” although based on the contents of the patent, we are talking more about an additional accessory.
The first transparent smartphone. Soon. This year, a prototype of the world's first transparent smartphone was presented at the exhibition in Barcelona. It was developed by the Taiwanese company Polytron Technologies. The manufacturer claims that the device will appear on the market by the end of this year.
The transparency of the gadget was created thanks to liquid crystal molecules using Switcha Glass technology. It should be noted that liquid crystals today belong to nanotechnology and thanks to them a touch interface has appeared. When the phone is working, the molecules are active, disperse and provide the necessary picture, displaying it on the display, and if you turn off the smartphone, the molecules change their positions. This creates a transparent smartphone with a milky tint.
The developers believe that the device is easy to use, although it will have a two-way sensor, but everything will become clear to the consumer after the phone appears on the market. Polytron Technologies with its new product wants to show that for smartphones to work properly, darts and microcircuits do not always have to be used. Unfortunately, the transparency of the phone is not 100%, since the SIM card slot, microphone, memory card, batteries and microcircuit are visible. Also, the developers failed to completely hide the camera. More than one company has failed to cover the parts, so Taiwanese developers are going to hide them under a strip of dark glass.
Judging by the price, most likely this gadget will be weaker, but with good software. This new product can take its place among other smartphones, but only if the developers manage to create a clear image and a new OS that is more suitable for this phone. Demonstration and noise around innovation is more of a marketing ploy. Since Polytron Technologies develops only glass, and it had no intention of producing such devices. He just wants to impress his partners, since developments in the field of technology do not stand still. At the end of the year, the consumer will see whether Polytron Technologies managed to achieve its result. P.s.: Don’t know what to do with a spoiled child? Fun and harmless games about zombies at http://strelyaj.ru/zombi_igri will help you spend a relaxing evening! Large selection, simple controls and most importantly free!
Sony Xperia Sola ( Sony Xperia sola). Price. Review.
How to connect your phone to the radio? Smart plug. Photo. We lose weight without pills.
New hardware 2014. Computer hardware. PC news, photos.
