ve been introduced, however. The idea has been around for a while, and each version seems to offer something different.
Here are a few facts about flexible displays:
* Samsung introduced a bendable screen at CES 2011. That wasn't the first iteration of its take on the technology. It was four times clearer than its previous model.
* Nokia introduced a twisting "kinetic device " in 2011. The device could be controlled by bending and twisting it with two hands.
* Youm uses OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays for better contrast ratios, and better power efficiency than traditional LCD screens.
* Youm technology can be used to wrap around the edges of a phone or other device, so that no space is wasted. The edges could possibly show text messages or single-line updates.
* Youm technology can be used on a phone or tablet that folds or rolls out. A folding device could be in the shape of a small square when folded, and a rolling device could be the shape of a cylinder when rolled up.
* The first prototypes to hint that flexible screen technology may someday be feasible were developed more than a decade ago by startup Universal Display . The company started up in 1994, and had created working -- but delicate -- prototypes by 2002.
* Philips was the first to show off a rollable e-ink display, Readius , at CES 2006. It was adamant about the product being released soon after the show. Instead, the Philips spin-off company working on the product, Polymer Vision , went bankrupt in 2008. Wistron bought the company, and came up with a new design in 2011, but abandoned the project altogether in 2012.
* In 2008, Esquire came out with the world's first slightly flexible e-ink magazine cover , sponsored by Ford.
* Flexible e-readers are now a reality, with the Wexler Flex ONE . It uses LG technology called Electronic Paper Display, or EPD. The main benefit of such a display is that it is more difficult to break than a glass display.
* Corning, the maker of Gorilla Glass, has created a new type of flexible glass called Willow Glass . The benefit of flexible glass is that doesn't scratch as easily as plastic, but still has the benefits of the harder-to-break flexible display. OLED screens could be covered with Willow Glass as an extra layer of protection.
