Tomorrow\'s mobile phones: Shape-shifters and more

Tag : Cookie Boxes

We saw an eye-popping array of designs. Some are innovative andintriguing, while others are, well, a little unusual. But thedesigners and other experts agree on one thing: Future generationsof phones will not look or act like current phones.
Here's what to keep an eye out for.
Shape shifter
One of the most striking concept phones we've seen is Nokia'sMorph. Made of flexible materials that mimic the suppleness ofspider's silk, the handset will -- as the name implies -- morphbetween what looks like a traditional mobile phone and a bracelet.Tapani Ryhanen, head of strategic research at the Nokia ResearchCenter in Ruoholahti, Finland, calls Morph a shape shifter.
"By using nanotechnology," Ryhanen says, "the phone can change itspersonality to become whatever is most suitable for the task athand."
Plus, its electronics are expected to be so small that they'reinvisible to the naked eye. This will allow designers to make thephone clear rather using a painted case that hides the chips andwires inside, according to Ryhanen.
And slobs of the world can rejoice: Morph will even clean itself."It will shed foreign material, similar to how a freshly waxed carwill repel water and allow it to roll off," Ryhanen says.