Nokia Morph Concept

Some of this stuff really isn't all that far away. At CHI 2008, there was a paper called "Dynamic Knobs: Shape Change as a Means of Interaction on a Mobile Phone". Imagine a spring loaded mechanism, such as a ball-point pen. Or you could move the button with small motors, just the way a compact camera does with it's lens. The button would plop out when you get a message. You could then reach down into your pocket and feel that there is a message waiting for you, because there would be a button sticking out from the surface of your mobile phone.

/Staffan Lincoln - 4/9/2008