The smartphone with the “paper” screen and the roll-up computer: 2 curious things seen at the MWC

Like more or less all the previous ones, too the 2023 edition of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (here all the news) is characterized by many innovations that we will see in the world of telephony, from first Honor brochure for Europe to the phone made together by Xiaomi and Leicabut also by many oddities and curiosities.

Come on quadcopters for the transport of people, hypothetical means of transport of the future, to many, many robot that we saw walking through the pavilions and corridors of the fair. We have chosen two that have particularly impressed us, also for theirs concrete possibility of becoming products that we could actually buy.

TCL NXTPaper Phone, the secret is mockery

As we had already anticipated on Italian Tech, TCL brought to Barcelona the smartphones of the 40/400 range and new versions of the NXTPaper tablet, available in 11″ or 12″. The latter use a proprietary technology for the screen (NXTPaper, in fact) which is based on the use of 10 layers of optical coatings which should reduce the presence of reflections, act as a filter against the blue light emitted by displays and generally reduce eye strain.

The company decided to try it on both a notebookscurrently sold only in the United States (photo at top of pagecosts a thousand dollars) and especially on a smartphone, simply called NXT Paper Phone: the screen simulates paper, while not being e-ink, and the idea is that of reach out to the new generations, who got used to having a display in front of the face much earlier than the previous ones. And that therefore they may have more need for tools that are kinder to the eyes.

At the moment, the intention seems simply to probe the interest of the marketbut if the reception were to be good “we can put it into production within 2-3 months”.

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Lenovo’s rollable computer

Definitely more distant in time is the prototype brought by Lenovo to Mobile World Congress. Indeed, the prototypes: a laptop and a telephone with a rollable screen, which becomes larger (or smaller) according to the needs of use.

The smartphone is made in collaboration with Motorola and both we had already seen them at the 2022 edition of Tech WorldLenovo’s annual event dedicated to innovation, but this is the first time they have been physically exposed to the public, in a display case that not even the Gioconda. And that obviously didn’t fail to attract the flashes of photographers.

From the company they explained that the notebook uses a technology “similar to that of folding phones, but more complex”, which allows him to switch from a 12.7” screen to a 15.3” one, the first in 4:3 format and the second which can be in 8:9 or divided into two 16:9 displays each. The screen moves under the keyboardwhich required a new design of the hinge and also created some problems (which will need to be resolved) for the arrangement of the battery.

Among the other issues to be addressed, there are that of softwarewhich needs to be optimized, and that of weight: the mechanism evidently adds mass, and Lenovo’s engineers are experimenting with the use of more noble and lighter materials, such as magnesium And carbon fiber, to return to acceptable values. Which is a discourse that also applies to the price: to date, it is difficult for a product of this kind to start at less than 2,000 euros.

@capoema