Nokia’s second big and ambitious concept is a real jewel. It’s a wraparound touchscreen gadget with no ‘physical’ buttons and it’s called the GEM.
The gadget’s super-sensitive touchscreen is actually part of the structure of this imaginative smartphone – which is currently only a digital artist’s rendering, with no prototype yet available. But a video released by the Finnish co. reveals Nokia Research Centre’s big plans for the future of touchscreen – all touchscreen.
Named the GEM for its multi-sided bevelled edges, resembling that of a precious stone, a simple circle made with a finger on one surface unlocks the and the video shows off how the device can be used as a camera by touch only. Displaying the image on the same touchscreen used for the zoom and trigger button. Amusingly, then when the photo is taken it can be expanded with a simple pinch gesture to cover the entire surface of the phone, which makes the gadget completely inconspicuous – almost invisible.
Icons can be dragged with a touch and cover the surface of the touchscreen from the main menu, caller information scrolls all around the GEM’s circumference. Other fanciful features demonstrated in the clip are avatar manipulation and use of the GEM as a media player worn around a user’s neck.
This is the second innovative idea to come out of Nokia HQ today in celebration of the companies 25th year in research and joins the impressive flexible HumanForm concept covered in our article earlier today.
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