Just when we thought every aspect of smartphone design was pretty much depleted, we are treated to something completely new and different. I am not talking about touchscreen features or even gesture controls. It’s more like something out of a science fiction movie from the ’80s. Researchers recently unveiled a new bend gesture interface, and we of course wrote about it, but now they have also unveiled a shape changing smartphone feature that could be incorporated soon.
The recently unveiled shape changing smartphone concept is called MorePhone, and it is a project developed by researchers at Queen’s University in Canada. The project in itself is an attempt to make smartphones a little bit more streamlined for an active lifestyle. When I say “active,” I don’t mean outdoor activities, but a more noisy and busy lifestyle where ringtones and vibration alerts no longer grab your attention.
The MorePhone’s most predominate feature is that when it rings, it bends itself into different shapes which alert users that someone is trying to reach them. It’s quite an interesting approach, and a feature that I am sure not many people are very familiar with. A shape changing feature will definitely poke at your attention if you’re at a concert or having a meeting and don’t want to have your ringtone or vibration feature to interrupt the meeting. The smartphone like this is a way more optimized solution for those kinds of situations, and they could make future flexible smartphones a breed of their own.
It almost feels like the prototype smartphone comes alive when it rings, which in a way it does, but I have to agree that the shape changing smartphone looks and feels a little creepy with the way it moves. The shape changing feature is cool and all, but I personally am a little torn between whether I would really like it, or of it would just creep the heck out of me if I saw it crawl up like it does in the demonstration.
It’s impossible to say when this feature will be available in consumer smartphones. It all depends on whether consumers find it necessary and important enough to be incorporated. The researchers won’t know until people have actually had the chance to try it out. What do you think? Would you like a shape changing smartphone to go with that lifestyle of yours?
MorePhone – Shape Changing Smartphone Feature
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