New technologies are stretching the boundaries for fabrics and films.

Christian de Poorter, a designer based in Milan, Italy, predicts that 2013 will be the year of flexible displays: a technological revolution, to be sure, and one that could “open new unexplored possibilities,” he believes. Two ends of a rigid FlexPhone aluminum case are connected by the central silicone part with deformable inlay so that the device can easily bend into almost any angle.

Why? The buzz phrase is “new usage patterns.” The phone has a magnetic lock for the closed position that protects the display from scratches and bumps. The flexible touchscreen display is surrounded by a nylon frame.

An article on MIT’s www.technologyreview.com raises questions about a flexible phone’s functionality. No one can deny the “cool factor,” but how useful would it be? If the principle behind de Poorter’s design can be applied to tablets and laptops as well, could there be a new generation of software applications not possible with rigid displays?

• A digital makeup tool for women
• A bent-over placeholder for conference speakers with the name for the public on one side and the remaining time on the other
• An alarm clock that can be switched off with a touch of the hand on the top

Just the beginning?