Samsung is snatching up patents left and right, almost as if their existence depends on them. Although this isn’t the case, they are filing and being awarded patents for all kinds of interesting things. Earlier last week they were awarded a large group of patents, and in it was one for a phone with a display that had a flexed design. It seems Samsung is not only interested in flexing their displays but also flexing their patent grabbing prowess, as they were just awarded a patent for a tablet that folds on December 31st. Samsung also has patents that hint at them changing up their design for the Galaxy S 5, so it seems like their design department has been busy lately.
Since this is just a patented design for something Samsung is interested in pursuing, there’s no need to be too excited as there isn’t necessarily a folding tablet in the works just yet. However it is interesting to see ideas for designs like this and who knows how close we may be to actually seeing something like this hit the market. Even though we’re unsure of how far along such designs are from reality, the future of such tablets and technology that follow along these lines is definitely closer than we think. The patent for the foldable design, labeled as Patent US D696, 693S is shown in the design renderings below, and it clearly displays a tablet that breaks in the middle and folds almost like a notebook. Think about the way a tablet closes into a notebook with its keyboard dock, except when it’s not folded it looks like a regular tablet.
The idea of a tablet that looks and performs like any other tablet, but then folds up like a book when you’re ready to transport it is quite a lofty goal, and we can’t wait till we start to see some stuff like this. It certainly might change the way we think about packing stuff when were on the go, and a foldable tablet would absolutely save some space. Just imagine if your smartphone was given the same treatment? A 5 inch screen that folds up like a wallet and could be easily stored in smaller pockets, could be something that isn’t too much of a stretch, that is if Samsung gets their design for the foldable tablet off the ground first, and into a working prototype. Let us know what you think about Samsungs big dreams in the comments.
