New Samsung trademarks hint at flexible AMOLED displays arriving in products soon

As techies been raving over Apple’s Retina Display technology in the iPhone and iPad, flexible AMOLED displays have gone largely unrecognized, despite the potential to be the technology of the future. As discovered by OLED-Display, in late March Samsung Mobile Display Co. filed trademarks for new iterations of AMOLED technology that will be incorporated into a line of flexible AMOLED displays.

The trademarks in question filed by Samsung with the United States Patent and Trademark Office are for the terms, WAMOLED, FAMOLED, PAMOLED, TAMOLED and YOUM.

According to Samsung, the YOUM flexible display uses thin film transistor (TFT) technology, allowing the display to be thinner (with a mere four layers) than its traditional six-layered LCD counterpart. Unlike OLEDs, which use two layers of glass, the flexibility of the YOUM display is feasible thanks to its use of plastic and a thin film, thereby contributing to the display’s light weight and durability. Samsung even goes so far as to call the displays “unbreakable.”

We’ve already seen various Samsung prototypes that have incorporated the flexible displays. We’ve also recently witnessed the first flexible e-paper display courtesy of LG. But the extent to which flexible AMOLED displays can be integrated into our lives doesn’t merely extend to just mobile devices and computers. In fact, Samsung has drafted up mock concepts in which the flexible display technology could revolutionize all sorts of devices. It could be used to create a musical instrument, alarm clock, mood lighting, camcorder and even an umbrella.

Current displays sit behind a pane of glass, but in later in 2012, we will begin to witness the first crop of products being sold for commercial use that will boast its flexible AMOLED displays. The production of the flexible displays will begin this quarter.

Check out the following concepts that demonstrate how flexible displays can be integrated into our every day lives.

Flexible display cards

RARalra, OLED display umbrella

Portable scanner

Multi-purpose musical instrument

Folding alarm clock

T-Roll, a PC for your car