A smartphone with touch-screen display is a bit broken 'like a limousine with holes in the wheels: it serves little purpose. Perhaps for this reason that in recent years, the cases are among the accessories purchased by mobile users (even those we would be free, but that's another story ).

Alternative? So far very few, but in a year or so the conversation could change radically. Samsung has revealed it to be ready to launch a variant of AMOLED display (the technology on which they are based screens "organic" active matrix already used on many mobile devices) that can withstand drops and shocks.

A screen from which you can see from this video - worthy of the best Will it blend - is practically invincible, being able to withstand anything, even to the hammer.

It is not yet clear whether the technology in question can prevent breakage of the digitizer, the panel located in front of the display that serves as an intermediate layer between the user's fingertips and the intelligence of the phone (usually the first element to break up after a fall) . What is certain is that you can barely see the first screens unbreakable before 2012, although the Mobile Display Division of the Korean company pushes to reach the market before the end of next year.

The competition around the development of next-generation displays, moreover, is rather on, especially since - last June - Steve Jobs has launched the 'iPhone 4, defining it as the only phone in the world whose level exceeds even the definition the sensitivity of the human eye. An announcement that triggered an immediate reaction of the same Samsung that has claimed the best performance of the AMOLED display, both in terms of contrast, both as regards color reproduction and viewing angle.

There are, however, only Samsung and Apple to do battle on this front. Among the other big market is worth to underline the commitment of Sony a few weeks ago that showed the progress of an interesting research on so-called rollable screens .