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Samsung Creates Phone With Curved Display

Posted by Soulskill on from the now-there's-a-right-way-and-a-wrong-way-to-pocket-your-phone dept.

iONiUM writes "Samsung today unveiled the Galaxy Round phone with a curved 5.7" display. It comes with a hefty $1,000 USD price tag. This is a follow-up to the 55" curved TVs it began selling in June, and is most likely an intermediate form in the development of fold-able phones. Considering the recent LG announcement of mass OLED flexible screen production, it seems we are getting close to flexible phones. One question I wonder: will Apple follow suit? So far there has been no indication they are even attempting flexible/bendable screens."

30 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What possible reason is there for this?

    1. Re:Why? by h4rr4r · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Easier to hold.
      You have surely noticed your hand is not totally flat.

    2. Re:Why? by queazocotal · · Score: 5, Interesting

      For a 55" screen - the reason is clear - if you're sitting fairly close to it - the edges are noticably further away from you.
      For a 5.5" screen - the most obvious reason would be to protect the screen.
      If, instead of a flat phone, you have one with a light curve on it - it will somewhat protect the screen from scratches due to laying it down wrong.
      I could also see that certain ways of holding it it would make long swipes easier.
      (With the thumb only)

    3. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Also easier to put in your pocket, a normal 5.7 inch screen would jut out more, whereas this would follow the curve of your leg.

    4. Re:Why? by phantomfive · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's not very often anyone has said, "wow, this phone is so hard to hold."

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    5. Re:Why? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 3, Funny

      Easier to hold.

      And carry. Heck, even a whiskey flask is curved.

      You have surely noticed your hand is not totally flat.

      Nor any other parts of your body. Except, of course, my washboard abs. hahaha - yeah.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    6. Re: Why? by foobar+bazbot · · Score: 2

      It's a solution to the classic problem of how to fit a phone in the pocket of jeans, which are tightly conformed to one's curved thigh. Now it's not as good a solution as ditching the tight jeans, but it is a solution.

    7. Re:Why? by SJHillman · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Most people use the phone in their hand more than place on a flat surface. I don't think they're marketing this as a suitable-for-every-single-goddamn-person phone so much as a suitable-for-people-that-this-would-work-for phone.

    8. Re:Why? by SJHillman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Mostly just iPhone users. But of course, that's because they've been holding it wrong.

    9. Re:Why? by queazocotal · · Score: 5, Funny

      It curves around your moobs.

    10. Re:Why? by calzones · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And how does TFA make the leap from curved glass (which is nothing new and quite run of the mill in so many other daily applications) to zomg, Samsung is going to have a foldable phone in 18 months? Wtf?

      Article smells a bit of sockpuppeted/astroturfed vaporware with the aim of getting people to forego competing purchases they're contemplating in the near term.

      --
      Asking people to think is like asking them to buy you a new car
    11. Re:Why? by sootman · · Score: 2

      > For a 55" screen - the reason is clear - if you're sitting fairly close
      > to it - the edges are noticably further away from you.

      Yeah, but we're used to seeing flat rectangles from far away. Does it EVER bother you that the edges of the screen appear to be a slightly different height than the height at the center? I'm sitting 20" away from my 30" screen at work and I don't even notice it. Does it ever bother you when you're at your friend's house, watching their TV from a non-ideal seat, and the whole thing is slightly trapazoid-ish? Your brain takes care of it for you. It knows it should be a rectangle so you perceive it as a rectangle.

      If you're sitting so close that the edge distance matters, then the screen would take up too many degrees of your field of view and you wouldn't be able to focus on the whole thing at once anyway, so what's the point? Oh yeah, and no matter where you sit, you'll see curvature in the image. So, this would actually be worse under most circumstances.

      As far as I can tell, it's a problem in search of a solution. (Or, something that just looks neat.) Some old theaters had curved movie screens, but that was so it could be evenly lit by a projector, which does not apply here.

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    12. Re:Why? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 3, Funny

      It curves around your moobs.

      Once they are big enough you can just tuck the phone under one of them... those that consider themselves more fashion conscious may want to get a spacer for the other moob so there is no "out of balance" or "left turn signal" look. Also note that using a vibrate setting while doing this may cause inappropriate giggling...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    13. Re:Why? by JeffAtl · · Score: 3, Informative

      The CRTs were convex, the samsung phones are concave.

    14. Re:Why? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 4, Funny

      It curves around your moobs.

      Once they are big enough you can just tuck the phone under one of them...

      Won't putting it under your boob prevent the signal from getting through?

      Fat does not interfere with cellular frequencies... if it did there would be zero cell reception in places like board rooms, banks, and most importantly... Congress...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    15. Re:Why? by c++0xFF · · Score: 2

      I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.

      -- Jack Sparrow

  2. Lawsuit incoming by Highland+Deck+Box · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apple already patented displaying graphical representations of information on a screen embedded in a communications device.

  3. You Have It Backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    One question I wonder: will Apple follow suit?

    Sorry, but you have that process backwards...

  4. Bucket list by Fuzzums · · Score: 2

    [x] play games on phone
    [x] use internet on phone
    [x] take pictures with phone
    [x] ...
    [ ] bend phone
    [ ] break phone
    [ ] use phone to actually call people

    --
    Privacy is terrorism.
  5. So... by Shirogitsune · · Score: 2

    Those warriors from Samsung have curved screens. Curved. Screens

  6. Gimmick by Princeofcups · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What is this besides a gimmick? How does a curved screen make anything better? Is there anyone out there who ever said, "this would be much better if only the screen were curved?" Answers are "nothing," "it doesn't," and "no."

    --
    The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
    1. Re:Gimmick by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't know about you, but my thumb is a fixed length, and it pivots at a joint. As such, if I have my hand at a fixed location on a flat surface, my thumb can only touch about a thumb's length of that surface. If the surface were curved, however, my thumb could touch much more of the surface area, since more of it would be within reach of my thumb. That would also allow the screen to be larger (and thus have more content) without sacrificing the convenience of being usable with one hand.

      But that's just me. Maybe you're just a regular Inspector Gadget with telescoping thumbs and whatnot.

    2. Re:Gimmick by gutnor · · Score: 2

      Well it seems that Samsung finally managed to copy Apple Reality Distortion field.

      A screen, curved like my hands, I need one now.

    3. Re:Gimmick by LordLucless · · Score: 2

      My answers are "durability", "see below", and "yes". Unlike you, I also have reasons.

      Google's Nexus S had a curved screen ages ago. I had one, and it was great - it meant if my phone was placed face down, the screen never made contact with the surface, so there was less chance of scratching. It meant that if it was dropped, there was little chance the screen would be subject to direct impact, meaning less chance of cracking - my phone hit our tiled floors a couple of times, with no harm done.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
  7. Apple? by kipsate · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Former Apple fanboy here.

    Off-topic rant first: It seems that user experience is no longer top priority at Apple. Why on earth did they screw the user experience for iPhone 4 and older models? The redesign of iOS 7, what a mess. It is inconsistent, mostly pointless, buggy, but worst of all it slows my phone down so much that scrolling has become jerky in any app. I remember playing with an Android Samsung phone a couple of years ago, and dismissed it mainly because of the sluggish user interface. Now my iPhone is like that. Good heavens.

    On-topic: Apple is no longer trend-setting but trend-following. Will they also come with bigger screens? Bigger displays? Better cameras? Sensors that actually work for gaming? You know, the stuff that other phones already have? Who knows, follow the trend, Apple...

    But personally I think a curved phone is a bit of a gimmick and Apple will not follow it.

    I really hope they get their shit together and start making inspiring phones that have the best software, hardware, design and most importantly the best user-experience of any other phone. You know, like in the old days. But I'm not holding my breath. Sigh.

    --
    My karma ran over your dogma
    1. Re:Apple? by roc97007 · · Score: 2

      So downgrade to iOS 6 and quit whining. Nobody forced you to upgrade to iOS 7 in the first place.

      Apparently, you can't.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  8. Re:"Apple, Apple, Apple"! by samkass · · Score: 2, Informative

    My answer is: Apple doesn't have a design patent on rounded corners and never claimed to have one. (And Gore never claimed he was the inventor of the Internet, either.)

    --
    E pluribus unum
  9. rather than a foldable display by Skapare · · Score: 2

    Rather than a foldable display, I'd rather have a display that can simple be pulled to a larger size or pushed to a smaller size (small enough to hide). This will, of course, require some much more innovative technology. But I think we will have it by 2050.

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  10. Re:Niche Market Takeover by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

    Samsung might be smart doing things like this. Rather than try to take over the masses to gain market share, take over all the niche markets. Apple makes one phone for all. Samsung makes a bunch of phones for individuals. Not sure if it's a good business model, but marketing wise it should work.

    Actually, Samsung needs to do this because they already have marketshare. They have something like 90% marketshare of Android phones. Android itself outsells iOS by at least 3:1 so Samsung moves at least three times as many phones as Apple.

    Samsung also just beat Apple in the profits game (which was inevitable - Samsung moves just that many more phones).

    The only thing left is to go after the other 10% or the featurephone market.

  11. Re:"Apple, Apple, Apple"! by Kielistic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My answer is: Apple doesn't have a design patent on rounded corners and never claimed to have one

    D670,286. Dotted lines are not part of the claimed patent. The only solid lines in that patent are: 1 rectangle with rounded corners. 1 rectangle inside the rounded one for the screen.