Samsung has made many innovative strides to get to the top tier of the smartphone space. Although it initially copied Apple’s iPhone concept, these days the company is a leader in innovation. Today Samsung introduced its new phone, the Galaxy Round, the first smartphone to have a curved display. As reported by theverge.com:
“Samsung has taken the wrapper off its rumored smartphone with a curved OLED display. The Galaxy Round, which will launch on SK Telecom in South Korea, has a 5.7-inch 1080p screen the same size as seen on the company’s Galaxy Note 3, but there’s a difference — it curves on the vertical axis in a similar fashion to some of Samsung’s OLED TVs.
“The potential benefit of this screen technology isn’t quite clear yet, but Samsung is touting a new feature called ‘Round Interaction,’ which allows you to look at information such as missed calls, battery life, and the date and time when you tilt it on a flat surface with the screen off. Samsung also claims that switching between home screens will feel like one continuous transition, and has worked on new tilt- and tap-based interactions for the music and photos apps.”
Releasing products prematurely has been a trend for Samsung. It appears to get the devices out just to be the first, and then refine it, or wait for someone else to make it into something useful. According to techcrunch.com:
“This $1,000 boondoggle has a curved face, and otherwise resembles a Galaxy Note, except with a $1,000 price tag. The screen seems to have little benefit beyond hugging a thigh better when ensconced in the pocket of jeans, or fitting the curve of a palm slightly more comfortably. But it’s a world first, and that seems to be what Samsung is most concerned with. The company also has a reputation for copying the successes of its rivals, most notably Apple, but now it also shows itself willing to charge ahead, perhaps even incautiously.”
The Samsung Galaxy Round is only available in Korea, with no word on its availability in other markets. At $1000, maybe it doesn’t need to expand; especially when the only difference between the Round and other high-end Galaxy phones is the curved screen.
Check out the video below displaying the Galaxy Round.
