“Most of its “advanced features” are being kept under wraps for the time being, but LG is showing off its strikingly-designed 13.4mm-thick GD900 this week with 7.2Mbps HSDPA in preparation for a launch later in the year. By and large, the design DNA here doesn’t break rank with LG’s sliders of the past year or two save for one very important exception: it features the world’s first transparent keypad that softly glows when open — and we’ve got to admit, this might be one of those rare instances where we’re digging sheer beauty over functionality or usability. The company has also designed a dedicated Bluetooth headset to go along with its latest work of art — but unfortunately, this image is about as close as you’ll get to any of it until the planned second-half retail availability.”

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/lgs-gd900-previewed-features-transparent-keypad/

A great article from MIT on the ideas around wireless power

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=emerging08&id=20248

“The flexible charge pump offers yet another option for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy,” said Zhong Lin Wang, Regent’s professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering and director of the Center for Nanostructure Characterization at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “This adds to our family of very small-scale generators able to power devices used in medical sensing, environmental monitoring, defense technology and personal electronics.”

http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?id=2275&ga=1

“January 28, 2009 Following INTEL’s recent demonstrations of wireless power transmission and numerous wireless power products announced at the recent 2009 CES INTEL researchers have released details of an ambient RF energy harvesting technique they have developed to power a typical wall mounted house-hold weather station complete with LCD screen from energy collected via a TV antenna pointed at the local TV station antenna 4 km away. The technology is an extension of that used in off-the-shelf RFID tags where the tag reader supplies power to the otherwise unpowered ID tag.”

http://www.gizmag.com/intel-researchers-demo-rf-energy-harvester/10837/

“The world’s smallest working fuel cell has been created by US chemical engineers, at just 3 millimetres across. Future versions of the tiny hydrogen-fuelled power pack could replace batteries in portable gadgets.”

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16370-worlds-smallest-fuel-cell-promises-greener-gadgets.html

“Under the product name ‘Blue Earth’, this marvel of usefulness comes under Samsung’s fairly new green initiative. A move that also ticks all the boxes in terms of how it and they respect the environment, along with the materials used to make up its design.”

http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2009/02/samsungs_solar_powered_touch_screen_phone.html

“LG’s eco friendly phone has a solar panel on it’s battery cover and gives you 3 minutes of talk time for every 10 minutes it is exposed to the sunlight.

LG plans to commercialize it’s handset this year”

http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/02/13/lg-has-solar-powered-eco-friendly-phone-too/

NEC Corp enabled an organic radical battery to be repeatedly charged/discharged 10,000 times or more with one second or shorter pulse discharge while enhancing its power density.

More information -

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090216/165690/

Retinal Display

“A virtual retinal display (VRD), also known as a retinal scan display (RSD), is a new display technology that draws a raster display (like a television) directly onto theretina of the eye. The user sees what appears to be a conventional display floating in space in front of them.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_retinal_display

More info -

LINK - Prototype  

LINK - Research paper

USC researchers print dense lattice of transparent nanotube transistors on flexible base

“The transparent display held up in the photo above looks a lot like a round strip of plastic. Imagine a transparent monitor that sits on your desk. You can see through it, behind it, etc. When you need to use your computer, an auto-mirroring backing is created to keep others from seeing your work.” - http://www.oled-display.net/usc-researchers-print-dense-lattice-of-transparent-nanotube-transistors-on-flexible-base