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Comment by ck2 | Hacker News Reader

Ah okay, using that lead, I found this http://www.intellalegal.com/2013/03/samsung-graphene-patent-...

Touch screen displays are made of indium-tin-oxide and samsung wants to replace it with far cheaper graphene.

But that is only a cost saving measure and I am not sure if it brings anything new to the table other than increased profit?

This paragraph alone says more than the entire CNN story:

Many companies have invested in the research and development of graphene and other nanoamterials. In all, the USPTO has issued approximately 7,000 patents related to graphene. Samsung has received the most patents related to graphene, with over 400 patents for the use of the material in displays and electronics.

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I would've missed it myself, if I didn't see the video. I never knew Samsung's YOUM display used graphene. It just thought they finally got around to making flexible OLED displays, since everyone was saying early on that one of the qualities of OLED is that it can be made flexible.

I don't know if it's a cost cutting thing for them, though, at least not in the short term, with small batches of them. It might be why the initial flexible displays will only be 720p, instead of 1080p, which I think one of the rumors is saying (on the LG side).

Either way, it will definitely be used as a marketing tool. I'm not sure if some other form factor other than flat will be appealing to consumers (unless it could be expanded into a tablet somehow?), but I think the biggest benefit to consumers initially will be that it's virtually unbreakable. It shouldn't shatter like all the other touchscreen displays do.

Getting indium out of our electronics is HUGE.

That is a revolution in its own right.

Can you say more about why? I assume it's a cost or environmental thing or both.

Apparently it's expensive and rare. From the Wikipedia page:

"In 2002, the price was US$94 per kilogram. The recent changes in demand and supply have resulted in high and fluctuating prices of indium, which from 2006 to 2009 ranged from US$382/kg to US$918/kg.

It has been estimated that there are fewer than 20 years left of indium supplies, based on current rates of extraction, demonstrating the need for additional recycling.[37]"

Isn't ITO among the most expensive materials in these displays? Seems like a good optimisation, if not revolutionary. Presumably it will help drive down the cost of flexible displays.

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