At first glance, Samsung's new Galaxy Note Edge looks pretty much like its predecessors. Well, that depends on which angle you're looking at it from. Because the minute you turn it on its side, you notice that this Note is quite unlike the others. This one is bent.
As Engadget illuminates in a helpfully image-heavy introduction of the new device, the Galaxy Note Edge is unlike any other mainstream smartphone out there in that it features a curved display. The curvature is limited to the phone's right side, and, in essence, what the curve does is form its own column that can be controlled separate from the phone's main screen, as illustrated in this video.
A while in the making
For those who follow Samsung's developments closely, this new product shouldn't come out of left field. Around a year ago, the company used the innovation launchpad that is the Consumer Electronic Showcase to reveal a device line it was working on called Youm. The main concept behind the Youm device – which made a brief appearance at CES – was that it was highly flexible. There was another product shown immediately after the Youm device, and it was one that was related as far as flexibility goes: a phone with a bend in the screen at the right side.
But phones don't represent the only use of the company's OLED technology. Within the past year Samsung has also debuted its $10,000 OLED TV, a 55-inch behemoth that features a conspicuous inward curve.
"Samsung OLED TVs bring beauty into any space with a timeless curved design that draws you into the picture and frame inspired by something you'd find in a modern art gallery," the product description states.
While certainly not as pronounced as the curve on the OLED TV, the Galaxy Note's new screen certainly signals that change may well be in the air when it comes to screen design. The questions then become: Will flat screens one day become relics of the past? And what exactly is so appealing about the curve?
Tracing the virtues of the curve
Ever since Samsung bent and curved its way into the spotlight at last year's CES, there's been one pernicious questioning circulating: is it all just a scam? That is to say, $10,000 is a heck of a lot of money to spend on a TV – and the new Galaxy Note isn't cheap either. Are consumers actually paying for something that's revolutionary, or are they being duped into shelling out dough on what amounts to a fad with a short shelf life?
According to Gizmodo, people who invest in curved screen technology should rest assured that it's here to stay. The article points out that the curve already has quite the presence in movie theaters, and so the fact that there's a TV that does the same thing only makes it more cinematic. However, the huge price tag that accompanies the curved TV sets currently out there should present an understandable deterrent to the average consumer, and it makes more sense to wait for the curved TV technology to evolve and therefore hopefully drop in price.
When it comes to curved cellphones, however, Gizmodo states that nothing should stop you from picking one up today, since, "When you're looking at a curved phone screen, [the] magnification effect is horizontally expanding the reflection of your head by a factor of at least 2x, blocking out additional light reflections and requiring less luminescence from the screen …"
Alright, we're going to cut that quote short and instead just paraphrase: The natural brightness produced by the phone's curvature means you can keep it dim.
