Interactivity Flourishes with Concept Cell Phone: The Nokia Morph

I was recently turned onto the following video regarding Nokia’s latest concept phone, the Nokia Morph. If you haven’t seen this yet, it is worth a look.

With all the converging technologies and the increasing demand for interactivity within the user interfaces we utilize on a daily basis, this concept phone is a prime example of a company redefining itself as a leader in the industry. Once made popular in early 2000 for their user-friendly, customizable cell phone design, we haven’t seen Nokia as a major player in the cell phone market for quite some time. Motorola, LG, Blackberry, Apple iPhone and Google Android seem to be the current frontrunner’s in this industry, but this may all change in the near future if Nokia has anything to say about it. If the aforementioned companies don’t have something in product development right now to compete with the concept behind Nokia’s Morph, they need to. And they need it fast.

The Morph combines a variety of interactive elements never before seen in the cell phone genre. First, we have the Morph’s physical flexibility, from thin foldout LED display to the phone’s ability to literally “morph” into the shape of a watch or bracelet. (Go, go Gadget phone?) This is something we’ve not seen before – unless you count the slap bracelets we all assaulted each other with in the late 80s. The beauty behind this product is that the nanotechnology that allows for the morphing feature of this phone has already been developed, it is just not yet affordable for the average tech-guru.

Another amazing aspect of this phone’s exterior is its self cleaning technology. The surface of Morph is superhydrophobic (Is that a phobia? Scared of liquids?) which makes it virtually dirt repellent. Also (and this feature may be marketed more towards female buyers, but is an amazing use of technology, nonetheless) the phone has the capability to change the color or pattern of its exterior.  Take a photo of your favorite wallpaper or curtain, and voila, your phone is instantly able to mimic the intricate colors and patterns it sees.

Of course, this is just a concept phone at the moment, but we are getting a first hand peek at what interactive cell phone technology could look like in just a few years. Nokia has done a great job in utilizing some key interactive aspects in designing this new model, and it will be interesting to see how the functionality is received by the public, if and when it hits the market.

[Via http://dparsonsmedia.wordpress.com]