Corning says flexible Willow displays are three years out, simpler uses still expected this year

There's no question that Corning has had a big impact on mobile devices in recent years with its Gorilla Glass, and it's hoping for similar success in the years ahead with its new Willow Glass technology. It looks like there's still a bit of a wait in store before we'll see products that fully take advantage of the glass's bendy properties, though. Speaking with Bloomberg, Corning president James Clappin says that products with flexible displays are likely still three years out, adding that it's now busy making "a lot of effort" to teach what it describes as "very big name" companies how to fully use the product. Clappin did reiterate the company's earlier that we will see some products using Willow Glass as early as this year, although those will likely take the form of simpler products; he offered a flexible barrier for solar panels and a thin film behind touch panels as some examples.

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Source: Bloomberg

Corning demonstrates how strong its Gorilla Glass 3 really is (video)

Corning demonstrates how strong its Gorilla Glass 3 really is video

We've just spent some time with Corning, which is showing off the strength of its third-generation Gorilla Glass. The company has tweaked the chemical and atomic composition of the raw materials of the glass, which in turn has increased its density -- making it much more scratch and dent resistant than last years model. Interested in seeing just how much stronger it is? Head on past the break for the video.

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The Weekly Roundup for 12.31.2012

The Weekly Roundup for 12032012

You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Gorilla Glass 3 Coming: Even Gorillas Have Trouble Breaking It

Okay, I made that part about gorillas up, but it’s easy to forget the usefulness of Gorilla Glass. A lot of the smartphones and tablet people use everyday are covered in this durable material. That’s one of the reasons that the screen on your phone won’t break if you drop inadvertently. Granted, it won’t protect your phone from any drops, but I’ve been quite happy at how scratch-resistant it is.

gorilla glass 3 corning

And while it’s not actually shatterproof, Gorilla Glass is far more durable than ordinary glass. Now, Corning has revealed that a new version, simply called Gorilla Glass 3. The new glass will be unveiled at CES 2013 and it’s supposed to be even more durable than the previous generation.

gorilla glass 3 corning mirror

There are already many devices covered in Gorilla Glass 2, and I’m hopeful that most of the ones I use next year will be covered in Gorilla Glass 3, assuming that it really does make them less likely to crack and shatter.

The Daily Roundup for 01.03.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Corning announces optical cables for Thunderbolt, coming this quarter

Corning announces optical cables for Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt enthusiasts have only been able to rely on the use of copper core cables -- which offer significant limitations on distance -- for their data transfer needs, but hope is close at hand. This afternoon, Corning announced that it's launching optical cables with Thunderbolt connectivity. The new cables are just as durable as copper and are up to ten times longer (they come in lengths of 10, 20 and 30 meters, while copper only goes up to three). Just like copper, the optical cables offer high-speed data transfers up to 10Gbps, though they lack the ability to provide power to your devices. If Thunderbolt isn't your thing, don't fret: Corning plans to offer a set with USB3 connectivity as well. We haven't been given any pricing yet, but both sets of cables should be available sometime in Q1.

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Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that’s a lot of face-saving surfaces

Dell Streak Gorilla Glass torture test

You could argue that toughened glass is the cornerstone of the modern mobile industry: without the knowledge that our touchscreen phones and tablets could survive the everyday risks of scratches and minor drops, many of us would be terrified of leaving home with a glass-covered mobile device in our hands. Corning now has evidence to prove just how important that silicate can be. In addition to the mostly upbeat third quarter fiscal results you'll find after the break, the firm brags to us that more than one billion devices have shipped with some variant of Gorilla Glass in place, spread across 33 major brands and 500 individual models that are occasionally very immobile. We can't give Corning all the credit when alternatives like Dragontrail exist, but numbers like these make it hard to dispute that millions of gadgets have been spared an untimely end (or a flimsy plastic display) by some clever primate chemistry.

Continue reading Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that's a lot of face-saving surfaces

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Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that's a lot of face-saving surfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corning and Samsung plan LCD glass plant in China, may toughen up a few laptop screens

Samsung Series 9 13-inch review head-on

Corning and Samsung were the best of friends well before even the Lotus Glass deal, but the relationship just got a little cozier. The two have agreed to build a plant in China's industry-heavy Wuxi New District focused on making glass to cover LCD panels in laptops and desktop displays. The roughly $600 million factory will be a major production hub for Samsung, not just an expansion: it's planning to stop some of its glass production in South Korea and send that work to the new facility when it opens. There won't even be signatures on the agreement until sometime later this year, so the plant itself is still a distant prospect -- but while the two haven't outlined their exact strategy, the new plant may be the ticket to toughening up that future Series 9 laptop with a touch of Gorilla Glass.

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Corning and Samsung plan LCD glass plant in China, may toughen up a few laptop screens originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft reveals its own Windows 8 tablet: meet the new Surface for Windows RT

Microsoft reveals its own Windows 8 tablet meet the new Surface for Windows RT

Here at its mysterious, last-minute press event in Los Angeles, Microsoft just confirmed it will sell its own Microsoft-branded Windows 8 RT tablet under the Surface badge. Measuring just 9.3mm thick, the Surface for Windows RT is built around an angled, all-magnesium VaporMg case that weighs just under 1.3 pounds, with an NVIDIA-made ARM chip powering the whole affair. Microsoft's hardware partner has also gone all-out on extra touches, such as a built-in stand, twin 2x2 MIMO antennas for WiFi, and a 10.6-inch optically-bonded, Gorilla Glass 2-covered HD display. Not unlike Apple's last two generations, there's a magnetically attached cover, but it's more than just a protector: here, it includes a full multi-touch keyboard and trackpad. As for expansion, you'll get one each of HDMI, microSD and USB 2.0 (sorry folks, no 3.0) as well as either 32GB or 64GB of storage, while software includes the usual Windows 8 accoutrements and a newly Metrofied version of Netflix. The Surface for Windows RT should arrive roughly in step with Windows 8, but Microsoft is only promising pricing "competitive" with similar ARM tablets -- and you're looking for a tablet with more grunt, you can spring for the Intel-packing Surface for Windows 8 Pro.

Be sure to check out our hands-on with the Surface!

[Thanks to everyone for the product link]

Continue reading Microsoft reveals its own Windows 8 tablet: meet the new Surface for Windows RT

Microsoft reveals its own Windows 8 tablet: meet the new Surface for Windows RT originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 19:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corning unveils slim, flexible Willow Glass (video)

Corning unveils slim, flexible Willow Glass

That is not plastic in the image above, it's glass. In particular it's a sheet of Corning's new 100-micron-thick Willow Glass, a new ultra-thin and flexible substrate for LCDs and OLEDs. The extreme thinness of the glass should lead to lighter, svelter devices, but it also means that shape is no longer a barrier for design. In fact, Corning expects Willow Glass will eventually lead substrates to be manufactured "roll-to-roll" instead of "sheet-to-sheet" -- similar to how newspapers are printed. Even though the glass is as thin as paper (literally) it doesn't give up its patented Corning toughness. Though, we wouldn't subject this to the same sort of abuse that the more brolic Gorilla Glass is built to withstand. Willow will start showing up in smartphones first, but the company is already looking into additional applications, such as solar cells and lighting. For more, check out the video and PR after the break.

Continue reading Corning unveils slim, flexible Willow Glass (video)

Corning unveils slim, flexible Willow Glass (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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