Stefan Mileschin

Motorola's applied to patent a new display layer that aims to prevent all those smudges that inevitably accrue on our finger-friendly devices. A modern-day touchscreen problem for prim-and-proper types, the application solves it with several minute, raised layers across the surface of the device, with little reflective caveats to capture oils and other unwanted impurities, optically disguising them from your eyes. The layers wouldn't degrade compared to chemical coatings that could also get scratched off. In typical patent application style, the wording's pretty hazy -- Motorola could either be describing an add-on layer applied to the phone afterward or something already fused to the display. In the application's words:

"A viewable surface of a device, and more particularly a viewable surface of an electronic device, and even more particularly a viewable surface of a transparent cover for a display in an electronic device, includes transparent pedestals projecting from the surface of the viewable surface, the pedestals having reflective sides that conceal, or suppress the appearance of, smudges on the viewable surface."

For some more specifics on Motorola's smudge-disguising solution, you can peruse the official filing down at your local patents and trademark office -- or just hit up the source below.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/10/m...-display-tech/