Related Sections: Cellphones
Sony Ericsson patent shows a phone with a swappable screen
Now here's an interesting idea: a newly-unearthed Sony Ericsson patent shows a phone that can be split apart into two distinct sections. One is the screen, the other the keypad. All of the real guts of the phone would be in one part, with the screen in another.
What would the benefit of this be? Well, you could remove the screen and flip it around to watch video with the phone closed, for one. Even more interesting would be if you had two separate bodies of a phone: one super-thin, the other a bit heftier but with a full QWERTY keyboard. If you were going out for the night, you'd pop the screen in the former. Going to work? Just stick the screen in the latter. It's certainly an interesting idea, one we'd love to see appear in some physical form at some point.
Via Unwired View
By Randy Aldrich at 1:05 AM ON 02/03/08
The uses you're suggesting don't make a lot of sense to me. You suggest that the 'meat' of the hardware would be in the keyboard and then immediately say a good use would be to switch the screen from a qwerty device to a normal flip phone. Doesn't that mean the most expensive part of the phone would be the part you'd be buying more of?
Instead, I'd like to see the meat be in the screen. This means to 'upgrade' your phone all you need is a new screen. If you're happy with the form factor of your device there's no need to upgrade just to get the latest and greatest features. Slap a windows mobile 'screen' into a normal flip phone and presto you now have a flip phone that has everything a pda phone can do. Or how about the example you gave...
Have 2 styles of 'keyboards' one a flip phone one a qwerty. you switch the screen in/out and you now have all your bookmarks/contacts/etc.
However; this all seems rather silly to me as the same thing is already accomplished with SIM cards today for any GSM device(s) and with verizon joining the GSM bandwagon over the next few years I'd think this idea would be pointless
By confusedcious at 6:36 PM ON 02/03/08
There is, of course, another advantage to having a removable screen - I find that in anything with a screen it's the first thing to die. If you could not buy replacements it'd be awfully handy.
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confusedcious:
There is, of course, another advantage to having a removable screen - I find that in anything with a screen it's th...More »