Demonstrations of 'bendable' screens have been a staple of technology shows ever since there were screens small enough for us to carry. This week, Samsung has given the strongest sign yet that the hi-tech devices might become reality.The company demonstrated 'bendable' AMOLED screens 4.5 inches across and just 0.3mm thick in January this year.Reports this week hint that phones using the technology - which can be 'rolled up' and survive hammer blows - will appear in the second quarter of next year.The technology relies on atom-thick layers of 'graphene' - sheets of carbon atoms - sandwiched together, protecting a layer of liquid crystal 'screen'.
Earlier this year, reports leaked that Samsung had the capacity to manufacture large amounts of the screen by 'early 2012' - but no one knew what they might be for. The report was remarkably specific, stating that the handset would offer specifications including a high-resolution 800×480 flexible AMOLED screen, eight megapixel camera and 1Gb of RAM as well as a 1.2GHz processor.