After Corning’s super scratch-resistant and durable Gorilla Glass made its way onto more than one billion mobile devices (yes, we’re saying that in a Dr. Evil voice) as of October 2012, it was almost more surprising to see a smartphone or tablet launch without a Gorilla Glass display. But what about the laptop? Until recently, there wasn’t as much of a need for Gorilla glass on laptops as on mobile devices. However, the introduction of Windows 8 in October brought touchscreens to laptops, as well as crazy convertibles that bend, twist, and glide into different positions. Finally, it seems there’s a real need for a scratch-resistant laptop display.
Realizing that people are no longer just pawing at the screens of their phones and tablets, but also at the screens of their laptops, Corning yesterday announced its new Gorilla Glass NBT panels for laptops. According to Corning, the new touchscreen glass provides eight to 10 times higher scratch resistance than a traditional soda-lime glass, as well as reduced scratch visibility if you do get a nick on your display.
As you can see in the video below, the NBT glass will help reduce damage when you accidentally close your laptop display on an object like a pen. Plus, for those of you who bring your laptop with you everywhere you go, the NBT glass is capable of withstanding the shock of minor bumps. No, that doesn’t mean you can drop your laptop without any repercussion; even “rugged” laptops have their limits.
But touch already increases the price of most laptops – some manufacturers offer touch as an optional upgrade that can cost $100 or more. So will Gorilla Glass NBT just tack on more to the price? According to Corning, the new glass will only account for one to two percent of a laptop’s overall price.
Dell is the first OEM to jump on the NBT bandwagon. These won’t be the very first laptops to have Gorilla Glass, however. HP’s Envy Spectre 14 features Gorilla Glass on its lid and wrist rest, as well as some of Dell’s higher-end models like the XPS 12. Dell expects to have laptops sporting the new Gorilla Glass by fall, and we suspect many more companies will follow.
Check out the video below to see the difference between Gorilla Glass NBT and a traditional soda-lime display. What do you think?
Image via Corning
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