Samsung Develops a Transparent OLED Laptop Screen

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Samsung Develops a Transparent OLED Laptop Screen

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday January 9, 2010 @06:58AM from the harder-to-hide-your-mmo-habit-from-the-boss dept.

Dyne09 writes "The Design blog has posted an entry on Samsung's new laptop with a transparent OLED screen. The photos show a dark-tinted and dimly-lit screen that is fully see-through. While the utility of a see-through laptop probably isn't that high for the average user, several medical and industrial industries could greatly augment design work or frame 3-D models over real life in real-time."

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Transparent OLED isn't new by Karganeth · 2010-01-09 06:59 · Score: 2, Informative

However, sticking it on a laptop is.
Realistic Uses by teeks99 · 2010-01-09 07:00 · Score: 4, Interesting

I had two ideas come to mind on ways to use this technology (laptop screens don't really seem like a killer feature).
- Glasses. It would be great to get a screen on the lenses of my sunglasses, most of the time they'd be clear like normal, but info could pop up throughout the day as needed. Or I could sit back and watch a video, and just turn it off if I needed to see something.
- 3D Displays. If one would take many layers of this together, it would be possible to create a 3D display a couple inches deep that would be able to be viewed without any need for glasses. It would be quite limited to the amount of depth available, but even a small amount could be revolutionary.
1. Re:Realistic Uses by Anonymous Coward · 2010-01-09 07:12 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  It would be great to get a screen on the lenses of my sunglasses
  Uh? Move your face next to your screen as close as you wear sunglasses. Do you see anything? Your eyes just can't focus on a screen this close. For this to work you need retinal projection, not a screen.
2. Re:Realistic Uses by Artifakt · 2010-01-09 07:43 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Do I see anything? Yes, I'm THAT damned nearsighted, you insensitive clod!
  
  --
  Who is John Cabal?
3. Re:Realistic Uses by gmuslera · 2010-01-09 07:46 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Combine both into 3d glasses, you give the 3d showing slightly different screen for each eye, Add augmented reality to the mix and you'll have an explosive cocktail. And you can add exrta features like vision enhancement (ok, for that dont need to be transparent, just project camera vision as background) to be able to use them if you are shortsighted
4. Re:Realistic Uses by VinylPusher · 2010-01-09 07:58 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  You noticed the depth of those head-mounted displays? Needed due to all the optics focussing the image into your eyeball (because you're eyes can't manage it due to aforementioned closeness).
How about a tablet/laptop by Sepodati · 2010-01-09 07:14 · Score: 4, Interesting

How about using this on a hybrid laptop/tablet? Instead of having an mechanical swivel for the screen that can break, just have a transparent screen like this. Open it up and it's a laptop. Shut the laptop and the screen mirrors so it's a tablet now. This is assuming you could get the outside (or back of) the screen to have touch capabilities.
-John
1. Re:How about a tablet/laptop by maxume · 2010-01-09 07:20 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  If prices continue to drop, the same thing could be implemented using two screens (I guess the exterior screen would have other semi-useful applications when the laptop was open).
  Personally, I think thin and cheap are a much bigger deal for OLEDs than semi-transparency.
  
  --
  Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
Re:cool, absolutely. but... by Tablizer · 2010-01-09 07:18 · Score: 4, Funny

there certainly is some geek coolness in having a transparent display on a laptop, although I question the usefulness of it; particularly when one is playing back pr0n on said laptop.
If you have a gf with a pretty face but an ugly body...

--
Table-ized A.I.
Re:It's not transparent! by HTH+NE1 · 2010-01-09 07:24 · Score: 3, Informative

It's translucent. It if were transparent then it would be clear, instead it's like a dark tinted piece of glass which isn't that easy to see through if you ask me.
No, translucency prevents seeing details through the medium, such as the glass you'd use in a bathroom window which allows light to pass through but scatters the photons preventing seeing detail. Transparency is a sliding scale, which can allow various levels of light through or even only certain wavelengths (colors) from 100% clear transparent to nearly opaque.

--
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
also by snarkh · 2010-01-09 07:24 · Score: 2, Insightful

Car windows, particularly the windshield.
1. Re:also by serutan · 2010-01-09 08:21 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  That's a great idea. Adding an information display to something that needs to be transparent, like a car windshield, seems like a much better application than making something transparent that shouldn't be, like a laptop screen. I'm surprised Samsung didn't learn anything from the public's reaction to transparent GUI windows. They're kind of cool as a novelty for about 5 minutes, but nobody really wants to use them.
Nook2 by eightball · 2010-01-09 07:25 · Score: 3, Interesting

Instead of having LED below the e-ink, put it on top of the e-ink. With no current applied to either, you see the e-ink. When you need to use the faster more colorful tech, make the e-ink whitish and turn on the OLED.
1. Re:Nook2 by eggnoglatte · 2010-01-09 08:30 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  It is too dim to have a purely reflective technology at the back. The OLED is only 40% transparent, any light bouncing off the e-ink has to pass through the OLED twice (once from the light source to the e-ink, and once form the e-ink to the viewer). At the end you only have 16% of the light being reflected, minus whatever the e-ink absorbs. The reflections of the top of the OLED will be brighter than the displayed information from the e-ink.
Two thoughts. . . by Fantastic+Lad · 2010-01-09 07:31 · Score: 2, Interesting

This could change the game for small tablets; you could hold the tablet on either side and use your fingers behind the screen to manipulate images without obstructing your view of them.
I've seen variations of such a solution which artificially create a 'finger' effect through graphics with the touch pad on the back of the device, but this would be the real thing.
Interesting.
Also. . .
People are obviously worried about the privacy factor of see-through computer screens, but I could see this being considered a huge plus in the evil corporate work environment; the drones would only be allowed to use laptops where the backside is a window to the front. A lot less Facebook and Farmville would eat into company time that way. Or at least, this may be how the pointy-haired dictator might think when placing bulk-orders for laptops.
-FL
Minority Report? by lymond01 · 2010-01-09 07:39 · Score: 2, Interesting

If you combine this with Wii-type motion control, I think you have the photo/video system from Minority Report.
1. Re:Minority Report? by Jezza · 2010-01-09 13:16 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Very short?!
yo dawg... by ZosX · 2010-01-09 07:47 · Score: 2, Funny

I heard you like windows so I made a window that you can display windows with while running windows, so you can have windows in your window.

--
zosxavius photography
Its all fun and games until... by LunarEffect · 2010-01-09 07:54 · Score: 2, Funny

you are playing Left 4 Dead and suddenly you see your mother in law appear among the zombies.
yep by itomato · 2010-01-09 07:57 · Score: 3, Funny

Heads-up display, much like the system used in Cadillacs.
http://cars.about.com/od/cadillac/ig/2008-Cadillac-STS-gallery/2008-Cadillac-STS-HUD.htm
viewing a map with turn by turn superimposed over the windshield would be killer app
We all know the first profitable use will be... by BlueBoxSW.com · 2010-01-09 08:00 · Score: 4, Insightful

Porn.
1995 calling... by AliasMarlowe · 2010-01-09 08:10 · Score: 4, Informative

IBM ThinkPad 755CV had a transparent LCD display (VGA resolution) around 1995. It could be detached from the laptop, and placed on an overhead projector, for making PowerlessPointless-style presentations. This was in the days before projectors were common.

--
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Re:This does have everyday applications! by Anonymous Coward · 2010-01-09 08:33 · Score: 2, Funny

It's because they ran out of IP addresses and had to use NAT which prevented them from being able to initiate network connections.
Tablet technology? by SEWilco · 2010-01-09 10:00 · Score: 2, Interesting

Maybe a laptop with this screen could operate as a tablet when the lid is closed.
Advertising by zogger · 2010-01-09 11:28 · Score: 2, Insightful

They'll wind up using this for advertising. Instead of regular "dumb" windows in stores they will all be "smart windows" with changeable ads, visible from both sides of the glass.