The hot electronics go slip slidin’ away

Sliding features are the new trend in portable electronics devices, in line with slimmer and lighter features. Why are slides popular? For the user, slides save space and make opening faster. And for the makers, it’s more about design and technology. LG Electronics Inc. yesterday released its latest slide-type model from its luxury Black Label series ― the “Chocolate II,” which is for those who use service providers SK Telecom Co. or KTF Co. Also yesterday Samsung Electronics debuted its new three-dimensional game digital mulitimedia broadcasting (DMB) phone. The phone has control keys pointing in eight directions on the front along with five separate game-exclusive keys. The phone is equipped with a 2.2-inch liquid crystal display screen and 3D game chip, which enables the user to play games that have images of about 3 million polygons. It also has a 2 million pixel camera, dual speakers and other functions, such as movement recognition, Bluetooth and electronic dictionary features. Pantech also recently released a slide-type phone that serves as a TV when closed, and has DMB phone functions. Slides are also prominent in computers, like Sony’s new VAIO UX, launched here earlier this week. The tiny computer is not a laptop but more of a palmtop in terms of size, and has a keyboard that slides out beneath the monitor. Until now laptop computers were folder-types, mainly because they were large and needed a hinge to attach the monitor to the main body of the computer. The trend, however, is not just one of design, since sliding features were available several years ago in mobile phones. Those earlier slide-type phones are different from today’s models because the technology required to make a current slide-type is much more complicated, since the phones are slimmer and smaller. Min Hye-won, a spokeswoman for Motorola, said changes in ultra-slim slide phones don’t just involve the “case” of the phone. “Behind the innovative design of an ultra-slim slide phone is technology that makes the design come true,” she said. A spokesman for Samsung said slim slide designs require a small hinge that enables the phone to slide. “We first had to support smaller companies making the hinges to develop a smaller hinge, and then we had to overcome problems such as friction. Sleek design is all about technology,” he said. by Wohn Dong-hee