Gold, the new Black
Samsung unveils Galaxy Note 3: HOT CURVES – the 'gold grill' of smartphone bling
Everything is better with a few curves. While the concavity of the Samsung-built Nexus phone failed to set the world alight, that's no reason to stop bending it like Beckham. That's according to Samsung's "head of strategic marketing" who told reporters assembled for the Seoul launch of the Galaxy Note 3, including one from …
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Wednesday 25th September 2013 17:14 GMT Eddy Ito
Curved, hmmmm
Perhaps if it were bent different, you know, the other way. Oh, well yes I suppose the other way could have meant convex but no I meant the long way like this here, see. Hmm, no that won't do either. Ok, let's try it another way, push those corners up so it's concave there and push these down like this so it's convex on that end and give it a bow across the middle and... No, it looks like a bloody monkey saddle. Here, give me a new napkin.
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Wednesday 25th September 2013 17:17 GMT Cliff
Screen technology
I know Samsung have flexible LED-stuff screen technology which they showed off at one or other Reg-covered computer jolly recently. Part of the demo was to wrap the screen around the edge of the device so you could read status bar stuff from the edge of the device. That would suit a gentle convex curve on the edge.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 09:18 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Screen technology
Also, their concept video, showing a tablet that could fold in half look amazing. I know it was all CGI but if they ever make a device like that I'm buying...
About 20 seconds in on this video:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/samsung/9794055/CES-2013-Samsung-unveils-smart-phone-that-can-bend.html
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Wednesday 25th September 2013 17:34 GMT Trevor_Pott
Re: Superior?
Why? Oh so many people spend their time typing words into a box then posting those words on the internet with no greater intent than "feeling superior." How is getting a product that actually does something valuable any different from the aforementioned self-aggrandising textual masturbation?
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Wednesday 25th September 2013 18:06 GMT Steve Davies 3
Re: Superior?
Trevor, did we get out of bed the wrong side this morning? A rather pithy comment IMHO.
I get the feeling that Samsung is going all out to get the 'Chavs' off their iPhones. The new 'shiny-shiny' device. The fandoids will have to accept that their beloved device is becoming 'Blingy' and 'Chavvy'. Cue much gnashing of teeth.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 09:30 GMT Squidgell
Re: Superior?
>The fandoids will have to accept that their beloved device is becoming 'Blingy' and 'Chavvy'. Cue much gnashing of teeth.
Now that's one measure where Apple is way out in front.
- Got my shell suit on? Check!
- Got my Croydon face lift well-toigh'? Check!
- Got my 6" white stile'os in handbag for la'er? Check!
- Got my iPhone? Check!
Watchout town, I'm coming to gechoo!
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Wednesday 25th September 2013 18:26 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Superior?
Not just a BMW or Audi but any German car. This especially applies to the 'd**khead' in an Audi (I can afford a Porche Cayenne) Q7 who ran into the back of me yesterday. I was riding my Motorcycle (Brit not German). He even had the nerve to claim that it was my fault.
Mr Plod was not amused with him when it came to light that his insurance had run out. Now I've got to sue him personally for the damages or I'll lose my no-claims. He also had one of those tablets with a phone built in.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 09:29 GMT Professor Clifton Shallot
Re: Want to differentiate?
I was always adamant that only a proper physical keyboard would do but I have to say that Swype and similar slidey keyboards have my words-per-minute on my Android phone above what I could manage on my Nokia N71's physical keyboard.
Part of that is the software - the predictions are getting better and better - but still it means that a 'real' keyboard is no longer on my list of preferences.
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Wednesday 25th September 2013 21:15 GMT dssf
Not to nitpick, but...
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/grille.html
Unless the phones and Madonna's and LGGs, and R's teeth covers can double for cooking surfaces, hahahaha.... In which case those braces/bling pieces can be used as kinky branding irons, hahahah. Maybe if the phones batteries burst, though, the exhausting heat or gas might prove a "grilling" and "gruelling" experience.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 00:33 GMT the spectacularly refined chap
Why?
Does no-one remember even 15 years ago when true flat screen CRTs and then LCDs were advocated specifically because of the flat screen. The argument was that they don't reflect light in the same way, or more precisely is is all sent on one specific direction that is generally not the natural viewing angle. Curved screens have a much greater chance of having a reflection somewhere on the display.
Of course these displays are concave as opposed to convex but the same argument still holds. In fact possibly even worse since such a screen will tend to focus reflected light.
I can already picture the headlines - iPhone 8 users are "holding it wrong" because focused sunlight burns the users face whenever they make a call...
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Thursday 26th September 2013 01:14 GMT Goat Jam
LOL
Curved TV screens? Talk about a solution looking for a problem.
Engineer: "Hey look, I've figured out how to make a curved LCD panel!"
Marketeer: "Cool, let's start marketing it right away!"
Engineer: "For what application?"
Marketeer: "Errr, I dunno, how about TV's?"
Engineer: "What benefit would that have to the viewer?"
Marketeer: "It's curved!!!!"
Engineer: " . . . . . ? "
Why on earth would I want to have a curved telly? To reduce the viewing angle? Unless you are sitting smack in front then the "experience" (to borrow a revolting term much loved by marketing idiots) would be totally crap.
Having a curved tablet is equally dumb although the viewing angle issue is not important I suppose but there is still no reason to have a curved tablet so what is the point?
At least the curved phone had some plausible purpose, even if it was ultimately unpopular.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 03:49 GMT poopypants
I bought my last mobile phone two years ago
I'm really struggling to see anything else out there that would convince me to buy another one, since my current phone continues to do everything that impressed me when I bought it.
OK, the battery needs recharging more often, but fortunately if that starts to annoy me I can easily swap that out and put in a new one.
I really don't understand why people get so excited over non-essential improvements.
I'm beginning to suspect I don't belong here.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 06:58 GMT swissrobin
Re: I bought my last mobile phone two years ago
Without re-reading all of the comments and the article, I think the tone of both is mockery-to-meh on the interested in buying it scale.
So whilst you might not belong here, it's not because of your apparent indifference to this particular product.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 07:55 GMT Steve Davies 3
Re: I bought my last mobile phone two years ago
He/She does not belong here as he/she is clearly 'Off Message'.
Being 'On Message' seems to me to be a worshiper at the Church of Android and think that Apple are the Devil Incarnate. Microsoft is a 'Meh' view.
I'd better be leaving then as I clearly don't follow that gospel even though I have to use an company Android phone but it is crap. Drops calls when my old dumb Nokia does not.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 07:37 GMT Anonymous Coward
Quality
"phones have become incredibly good at noise cancellation while directional mics cut out most of the background sound"
Really?
So why is it pretty much every modern smart phone sounds far worse than a 6310i ?
Must be because that phone's primary function was to make calls, not play games.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 08:25 GMT unlockworldwide
Personally I perceive the "customer indifference" irrelevant; Samsung may not have created a "must have" device but appear unlikely to suffer any economic disaster by showing that they can do it.
And there is the key; it is Samsung who CAN do it.
It is not Apple engineering skill, it is the Korean's who invest in the R&D to attain those skills.
Curved screen is more likely to impact the TV market where, on a larger scale than we are used to today, they can "suggest" a wrap around that the public comprehend and will WANT. The illusion that we innovate and they build it for us ..... is defunct.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 11:08 GMT Anonymous Coward
" it might make your mates look twice – which is, after all, what a flagship smartphone is supposed to do"
So thats why you bought an iFolly?
Yeah your mates are looking but what they are not saying is that they are laughing at your for being tricked, not cause you have a handset from the noughties.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 14:28 GMT Mark .
Seems like a good idea to wrap round the side to finally give us a real full screen device, though nothing revolutionary yet - I think the killer will be phones that fold out into larger displays.
Reuters: "In January Samsung, which has taken over from Apple Inc as the global smartphone leader"
I'm glad they've recognised Samsung as number one, but they mispelled Nokia again... (not to mention this happened 2 years ago, and is old news - Samsung is well established as the leader now). The attempts to shoehorn an Apple reference into an article nothing about Apple know no bounds.
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Thursday 26th September 2013 16:16 GMT Anonymous Coward
Region Locked!
Fresh news that Samsung will be region-locking the Note 3. This does also include the Galaxy Note, S2, S3, S4 and S4 mini produced at the end of July 2013 or later. For more info see http://allaboutsamsung.de/2013/09/samsung-gibt-statement-galaxy-note-3-galaxy-s-4-und-co-ab-sofort-mit-regionaler-sim-karten-sperre/ (In German.)