A look into the future: Sony is working on liquid lenses!
United States Application US20100277923 discloses a new liquid lens technology developed by Sony (Source: Freepatentsonline). With such technology you can change the curvature of the lens by changing the voltage of the liquid. The advantages are:
-non-movement glasses for zoom or AF
-less glasses inside the lens
-faster electrical response
-non-motor on the glass
-silence AF mode
It might will pass a long time before we see such a lens, but now you know what Sony is working on!