When you watch this video, realize that you might be peeking into the future of flexible smartphone technology. Sure, today's handsets can alert you with noises and vibrations, but what if your phone were like the shape-changing MorePhone, bending and twisting when it receives a text or call?
Now you're getting the idea. Created by researchers at Queen's University Human Media Lab in Canada, the phone is in its prototype stage thus far. Its e-Ink display uses special memory wires, curling up to a certain angle when they're electronically activated.
This early iteration looks crude, but use your imagination. Picture this bending technology mixed with some of the flexible displays we've seen at trade shows. The result could be a dancing smartphone that jumps around in your pocket when it wants to notify you, or rapidly folds and unfolds itself like a butterfly's wings to attract your attention.
If this technology can be used to curl up edges -- or the entire screen -- certainly it can be trained to curl up the phone into a scroll when you're not using it, and later unraveling itself to a flat state when it receives information you'd like to see.
Take a look at our video, above; then watch the original video from the inventors, below. What do you think of this technology? Let us know in the comments.