back to article Baby's got the bends: LG's D958 G Flex Android smartie

Ask any consumer technology pundit and they will tell you the future of communications gadgets is all about physical flexibility and wearability. With its new G Flex tablette, LG has embraced the former and produced a device with a flexible screen and a flexible battery. It's a handset that trumpets its form just as loudly as …

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  1. FartingHippo
    Coat

    I foresee a problem

    If you try and throw this phone away, there's a good chance it will come straight back.

    Should sell well in Australia though.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coffee/keyboard

      Re: I foresee a problem

      Thank you, I needed a good laugh today.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sounds very interesting

    I quite like the benefits of the minor flexibility and the curve in the pocket, plus the speed and ui sound good, but the lack of sd card and the fixed battery are a definite loss of a sale to me, shame.

    1. Intractable Potsherd

      Re: Sounds very interesting

      Same here - no removable battery, no removable storage, no sale.

  3. Dave 126 Silver badge

    Looks good, but...

    ...compared to the LG-built Nexus 5 - available for around £320 - those extra features and bigger screen must really be worth it for the £560 quoted in the article. That said, I expect there will be savings over the RRP if you shop around.

    1. CherylWillBounceBack

      Re: Looks good, but...

      Frankly, the £300 Nexus 5 already looks to be an extravagant luxury compared to a £100 (easily unlocked) Motorola Moto G from Tesco. I bought one for my parents the other day, and for that amount of money it's a phenomenal device - fast, KitKat enabled and a lovely screen. If I didn't have vision issues which mean that, for me, large screen phones make a lot of sense, I'd not buy anything else, because there's nothing massively compelling in any other device that justifies the extreme hike in price. I'd certainly have one over a Nexus or any other sub 5.5" device.

  4. ukgnome

    How can we make people part with their cash? I know make it curvy......it didn't work in the 50's and it wont work now.

    1. Piro Silver badge

      Almost true.

      Small correction: Until Apple does it. Then they will have invented it.

      1. joeW

        Re: Almost true.

        That will change everything.

        Again.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Almost true.

        If you truly value innovation and originality, try applying it to your attempts at humour.

      3. tirk
        Joke

        Re: Almost true (@Piro)

        These sort of comments always make me think of this.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Almost true.

        iRound, rounded corners taken to the next level.

  5. Tom 38
    Alert

    Does it come in a range of bendiness?

    And will there be multiple versions in store that we can hold to our arse until we find one that matches ones natural curvitude?

    1. Shady

      Re: Does it come in a range of bendiness?

      I no longer fancy the thought of buying an ex-demo for a few quid cheaper

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Does it come in a range of bendiness?

      "And will there be multiple versions in store that we can hold to our arse until we find one that matches ones natural curvitude?"

      Don't be silly. You buy the phone (which as a fairly large curve radius) and just eat until your arse fits the phone. At a guess LG have done their research and the curvature is in the sweet spot for a standard Merkin hambeast, so Brits may need to pile on a few more pounds, unless they already have the desired shape.

      The tighter and perter your arse, the more burgers you need to munch. Could be a cross-marketing opportunity for fast food restaurants.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How well does it impact durability?

    The idea of bendiness (is that a word?) suggest a construction with less brittle materials, which could help keeping the phone screen alive a bit longer. There is a buoyant market in aftermarket screen repairs because in a battle between glass and gravity, gravity usually wins. It would be nice if the bendy components go some way towards addressing that vulnerability.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How well does it impact durability?

      " It would be nice if the bendy components go some way towards addressing that vulnerability."

      It would. But I can't help wondering if LG and their supplier will be pioneers in extending our understanding of glass fatigue. I look forward to other people testing the innovation on my behalf.

      1. I. Aproveofitspendingonspecificprojects

        Trouble with the curve

        What are El Reg arsessments of curvarseture?

        (Why don't we have any Clint icons?)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Good grief

    This is the phone equivalent of 3D in televisions. A feature no customer is asking for that provides next to no extra functionality but the industry desperately hopes will convince people to upgrade the products they've just bought and are actually happy with.

    1. Thecowking

      Re: Good grief

      I think the equivalent of 3D-TV in the phone world was actually 3D phones.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_3D-enabled_mobile_phones

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Good grief

      "A feature no customer is asking for that provides next to no extra functionality but the industry desperately hopes............"

      It's called "innovation". As a general rule, you can't rely on the public to tell you what the next killer product is. Certainly they'll help you refine what you've already offered them, but quite often you have to offer them something new they haven't asked for, and just see if they'll buy it.

  8. Missing Semicolon Silver badge
    Happy

    Curve or chin

    That was one of the nice things about the HTC Hero/Legend devices - the "chin" at the bottom both brought the microphone closer to your gob, as well as keeping the glass screen off the mucky table.

    Funny how manufacturers keep inventing the idea.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Curve or chin

      That was one of the nice things about the HTC Hero/Legend devices - the "chin" at the bottom both brought the microphone closer to your gob

      Ah, prior art here. I have that on my old but trusty Motorola v3i (the original RAZR). As a flip phone, it places the mike close to my mouth by design..

      Personally, I class the v3i as having the best ever form factor, even thought the shiny keyboard sucked and the OS was rubbish - mechanically, it was perfection. Which is why I still have one :)

  9. Ami Ganguli

    "strange text on the back"

    The strange text is definitely not Korean. It appears to be "hello" backwards.

    1. Al Taylor

      Re: "strange text on the back"

      Doh! Of course it is. I've been looking at it for over a week and the coin still hadn't dropped.

    2. Ken Y-N

      Re: "strange text on the back"

      Olleh would appear to be KT's (Korea Telecom?) brand:

      http://www.ktexpatblog.com/

  10. Tim 11

    pointless

    "Woo Hoo" I thought - "A phone you can fold in half to make it smaller and protect the screen when it's in your pocket". But of course no, it's just a phone that is slightly curved but you can bend it flat if you want to.

    I already have a flat phone - why the hell would i want to buy a curved phone just to bend it flat?

    1. Adam 1

      Re: pointless

      I agree. I am hoping that someone designs some sort of roll up screen that can be a 4-5 inch phone but extend into a small tablet by pulling one of the sides out

  11. Azzy

    What a gimmick!

    So we're supposed to think that this is a good thing?

    It's not like they've made gorilla glass any less brittle (if ya'll haven't noticed, it's common for the gorilla glass on a screen to be damaged before the display itself), so the screen will still break the same way as before. I think they're just hoping the flexibility will deflect attention from the miserable screen resolution (seriously? Phablets should have full HD at a minimum...) and otherwise unremarkable specs and questionable design decisions (like the button positioning)

    It'll be a facinating study in the durability of flexible electronics though. My betting is that reliability will be miserable.

    1. csumpi

      Re: What a gimmick!

      Dunno about that. Gimmick to me is things like Siri. You ask her stupid questions, like does she like boys or girls once you get your phone and you never talk to her again.

      This curved feature actually seems nice and useful every day. I'd give it a shot if I didn't already have a cool phone.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    does the world actually need a phone that bends?

    SILLY question, of course it does! I, for example, can bend it round my penis! How cool is that, eh?! Now, if you excuse me, I must twitter this novel idea to my followers, and update my facebook page...

  13. Jan 0 Silver badge
    Pint

    @Alun Taylor

    Three cheers for not breaking the article up into multiple pages. I've got a scroll bar and I want to use it!

    The beers are on me.

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