Here’s a great video demo of a smartphone prototype from NTT Docomo (NYSE:DCM) which has a see-through display that (like the Sony reach-around PS Vita) accepts touch input on both sides. This allows you to do gripping actions, holding an object in place while moving something else.
Practical? I’m not sure yet. One advantage is that you can move things on screen from the back without your finger obstructing your view as it usually does. In any case, it sure does look cool.
A couple of years back TDK showed off a similar concept, with a flexible OLED display – although for Docomo to create an Android prototype with touch input on both sides, this is certainly much cooler.
Co-developed by Docomo and Fujitsu, the transparent screen currently is a 2.4-inch QVGA display. I can’t help but think that if it were scaled up to something much bigger, it might look a little like Tom Cruise’s Minority Report computer (see right). The possibilities for two person gaming, with a person on each side are pretty mind boggling. Off the top of my head, I’m sure patty-cake [1] would be a huge hit!
But I digress…
Check out the video below from Diginfo News for a demonstration of how Docomo’s transparent smartphone screen works.
[Via Akihabara News]
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Whether it’s ‘patty-cake’ of ‘pat-a-cake’ has been a hotly-contested point of debate among our editorial team this afternoon. Wikipedia says both are ok. Now you know. ↩