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Corning Monkeys Around With Next Display Technology: Willow Glass

Glass pioneer Corning today announced a new technology it says will help power a new generation of screens.

The product, known as Willow Glass, is designed for both thinner phone, tablet and notebook screens as well as curved displays. Corning said the technology will work with the two main types of screens — those based on organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and liquid crystal displays (LCD).

Although Willow Glass will initially be made in sheets, similarly to traditional glass, Corning eventually hopes to be able to produce it in rolls, like newsprint. It is currently sampling Willow Glass to customers.

Corning’s current display technology, Gorilla Glass, is used by leading device makers including Apple and Samsung. The company has also announced an updated version, Gorilla Glass 2.

Willow Glass should start showing up in tablets and smartphones sometime in 2013, said Dipak Chowdhury, Corning division vice president and Willow Glass program director, and it could be used in tandem with Gorilla Glass in some devices.

“Willow Glass is a substrate for use inside the display, while Gorilla Glass is outside the display protecting it from everyday wear and tear,” he said. “Willow Glass has the properties that support high performance LCDs and OLED and touch panels. Scratch and damage resistant Gorilla Glass is the cover glass that is used on the outside of the display.”

While it’s not immediately clear who the first customers for Willow will be, vampire slayers everywhere are no doubt hoping Facebook uses Willow for its Buffy phone display.

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Nobody was excited about paying top dollar for a movie about WikiLeaks. A film about the origins of Pets.com would have done better.

— Gitesh Pandya of BoxOfficeGuru.com comments on the dreadful opening weekend box office numbers for “The Fifth Estate.”