back to article LG's curvy telly and Samsung's Galaxy camera seen in the wild

A hands on with LG's new TV and a Samsung camera that doubles up as an Android phone? Is this Christmas in July? Not really, it’s a PR thing, would you believe. It’s when all the products the hardware makers slavishly promoted earlier in the year are laid bare for the press to fondle, as a reminder of what punters may be …

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  1. JDX Gold badge

    Curvy screen... why?

    The article didn't appear to explain what the point is, what benefit it offers or problem it solves.

    Does anyone know?

    1. Dazed & Confused

      Re: Curvy screen... why?

      It's attempting to solve LG's problem of you being perfectly happy with your current TV....

      1. CCCP
        Devil

        Re: Curvy screen... why?

        The problem is even bigger as tellies have been good for almost a decade. Well, at least higher end screens have been decent. So not only are people happy with their current main TV, the second telly is also plenty good enough. The effect is a shrinking early adopter crowd and increasingly desperate manufacturers.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Curvy screen... why?

      On larger 4K/8K screens, it purportedly gives better viewing of the periphery of the image and makes it more "immersive" .....

    3. ColonelClaw
      Happy

      Re: Curvy screen... why?

      The big problem with current TVs is that they are really good, and there isn't much need to replace them. If LG can sell us one of their pointless curved TVs they're actually selling us TWO TVs as we'll need a flatscreen replacement when we realise that they're shite.

      1. Richard 81
        Black Helicopters

        Re: Curvy screen... why?

        So there must be an LG marketing bod snooping around here. Who else would down vote Dazed & Confused

        and ColonelClaw.

        1. Dave Lawton
          WTF?

          Re: Curvy screen... why?

          More importantly, it can't be hung on a wall.

          Why ever not ?

          1. IsJustabloke

            Re: Curvy screen... why?

            I had my TV on the wall for a while but in the end found it restrictive and pointless. I really can see no reason for putting a TV on the wall of a living room.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Curvy screen... why?

      It's to virtually guarantee that you'll get glare at some point on the screen, with no way to angle it and avoid the glare.

      Does anyone else get the feeling that LG are going to start making curtains / blinds next?

  2. AndrueC Silver badge
    Trollface

    Re: Curvy screen..why?

    Does anyone know?

    It attempts to solve the problem of falling sales of existing product.

  3. stucs201
    Joke

    I used to have a curvy screened tele

    Used to curve the other way though.

  4. CJatCTi

    Distance from your eyes

    It will be the screen is that large that the distance from your eyes to the edge of the screen is much more than to the middle, so rather then looking side on you are always straight at it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Distance from your eyes

      Bingo - just like those massive (I mean the extra large ones) film theatre screens are. Of course you can continue to think whatever you like about the marketing department or if they have correct angle.

  5. King Jack
    Facepalm

    Years ago it was Toshiba's 'Flatter, Squarer Tube' vs Sony's Curved in on plane Trinitron screen. Whos screen was better? Now after getting totally flat screens we get this bollox and still some people are lapping it up. Sheesh!!

    1. Luke McCarthy

      These are concave, not convex.

  6. Piro Silver badge

    To waste time being curved it needs to be absolutely vision filling

    This won't be. It'll be sat in the corner of your living room.

    This is not IMAX. If only.

    1. phuzz Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: To waste time being curved it needs to be absolutely vision filling

      You can always sit 50cm away from it like my flatmate used to do when playing Halo, it'll fill your vision then.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Curved or not, if it don't hang on the wall, it's useless. Or shall we all go back to the TV stand or worse still the 80's TV cabinet? How quaint.

  8. Steve Knox
    FAIL

    Glossy Finish?

    Is that, as it appears, a glossy finish on that curvy screen? If so, the net effect is going to be to amplify glare from any light source in a wide arc behind the viewers.

  9. Dick Pountain

    They've all gone barking mad. Their skin is still peeling from the burn from 3D TV and they come up with this shite. That camera could anchor a megayacht.

    1. Richard Taylor 2
      FAIL

      Barking mad?

      They are only woofing! What is the market - photographers who need a phone (and are prepared to put up with an appaling shape and bulk for no good photographic effect) or telephone users who would like a little more glass on the back?

      1. Richard Plinston

        Re: Barking mad?

        > What is the market - photographers who need a phone (and are prepared to put up with an appaling shape and bulk for no good photographic effect)

        This is not a phone, it does not have an earpiece and mouth mic. It is a full size camera that has connectivity via WiFi and cell network, and the ability to be programmed. The fact that is can run phone apps and skype is irrelevant but may be marginally useful.

        The communication and apps will make it able to be remotely controlled and will be able to directly and immediately upload to PC or an internet site. Phone users that take snaps may find it difficult to imagine why this would be useful but professional and semi-pro will understand.

        I have a Panasonic FX-90 with WiFi (one of several Panasonics that can do this) that I can put up a tree and use my phone or tablet to control it from a comfortable position. No more hides up trees to get bird photographs. I can set it so that portrait photos are immediately shown on my PC or even a TV so that they can be evaluated on a large screen and retaken if necessary.

        I have Canon that can be programmed using Basic or Lua thanks to CDHK. It can be programmed to do time-lapse, focus stepping, movement detection and dozens of other things.

        This Android camera should be able to do all of that and more.

        1. mmeier

          Re: Barking mad?

          DSLR are things that I use for more that 6month before replacement so an Android OS, even more a Samsung Android (and the camera parts are likely not OSS) is not a smart idea IMHO.

          Granted, a 20Megapixel crop sice (APC-S is not full size, crop factor is 1.6 i.e a 10mm lens acts like a 16mm one) is useable but aside from some special jobs like taking pictures of shy birds or females the remote control is not that useful. And the "direct to remote unit" feature can be had with many cameras using EyeFi

    2. Intractable Potsherd

      I have the compact Galaxy camera, and it is a great piece of kit. If I were in the market for an SLR (which I'm not - too big to carry around easily) I'd certainly consider one of these.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Unhappy

        Not sure about the camera, the advantage of my current DSLR is that as soon as you switch it on, you can take a picture - no boot up.

        Also, I'm sure that touch screen is going to be touched, brushed etc. all the time - probably resulting in missing "that shot" because you've just Facebooked your location...

        On a final note, it'd be interesting to know the battery life, 'cos shiny screens, Android etc. are all going to nibble away at it....

        E-D

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Is Android - or any other mobile OS - a good DSLR OS?

        A true camera needs an OS which is real-time or mostly so - you don't want something to delay camera functions because maybe it's checking GMail or something alike - I prefer by far a dedicate OS designed from ground up to serve camera functions, than an OS designed for phones that actually don't look so smart, inheriting more from gameboys than PDAs. That's why I also prefer a dedicate GPS navigator in my car than using a smartphone which is also performing many other different tasks... when I'm driving or taking photos I prefer by far a dedicate device.

        1. Pypes

          Re: Is Android - or any other mobile OS - a good DSLR OS?

          came here to say the same thing. My DSLR boots in about 0.5 seconds, and can hit 11 fps in continous mode, shutter lag is practically non existent.

          Compare with your average smartphone; minute long boot times, and shutter lag that can be measured in whole seconds, not what I'm looking for in a camera.

          1. BongoJoe
            FAIL

            Re: Is Android - or any other mobile OS - a good DSLR OS?

            I am mildly curious as it wasn't mentioned in the article; but does it shoot RAW or jpg files?

            Either way, the answer makes the thing even more pointless.

            1. IsJustabloke
              Facepalm

              Re: Is Android - or any other mobile OS - a good DSLR OS?

              then why even ask the question?

          2. Psyx
            Stop

            Re: Is Android - or any other mobile OS - a good DSLR OS?

            "Compare with your average smartphone; minute long boot times, and shutter lag that can be measured in whole seconds, not what I'm looking for in a camera."

            So you've tried it, or is that purely a speculative review?!

            It'll be slower to start, but I don't see that as likely to ruin the camera, so long as they've made it a reasonable amount of time. I honestly can't see Samsung releasing a camera that takes a minute to boot, can you?

    3. Francis Boyle Silver badge

      Samsung

      Make the screen detachable. Connect it to the camera by wifi/bluetooth and provide an app that can control all camera functions and you might have something. (And remove the viewfinder. As much as I hate not having a viewfinder this is a case where it can reasonably be dispensed with - there's not much use for a viewfinder when your camera's up a pole.)

      1. mmeier

        Re: Samsung

        Remote Control software for DSLR already exists at least for the better systems (I.e Canons Eos 600 and better) and the prices I have seen for the type of camera described here are in the same range. So there is little to no benefit in the Android camera.

        1. Richard Plinston

          Re: Samsung

          > Remote Control software for DSLR already exists

          Certainly, there are many from full pro expensive ones with their oen screen to 'build it yourself with an Arduino and use an Android phone':

          https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.zig.dslr&hl=en

          This is another option, just as the several from Panasonic are. This has the advantage of being built in rather than being extra bits of kit that must be supplied with batteries and plugged in.

          > So there is little to no benefit in the Android camera.

          Android can run apps and this is likely to have the ability to write apps that can do things with the camera that cannot be done on even top-of-the-line DSLRs. Things that can also be done with CDHK (on compact cameras) such as programmed focus stacking, movement detection, time-lapse. These may not be of benefit to you, or even outside your imagination, but they are things that I use (with CDHK).

      2. phuzz Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Samsung

        "Make the screen detachable. Connect it to the camera by wifi/bluetooth and provide an app that can control all camera functions and you might have something."

        If the screen was detachable, it would basically be a phone (or a small tablet), so why bother sticking one on the camera, when everyone already has a phone in their pocket?

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    3D-How passé

    Hasn't anyone told them 3D's dead?

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I can see how a camera with this level of connectivity might be useful for a photo-journalist to get that snap of some wannabe WAG with her tits out straight back to the "news" desk, but can't see who else it would suit.

    It would be lost on your average facebook snapper and I can't see a serious amateur photographer being interested. So it does beg the question quite why they've bothered.

    1. Psyx
      Stop

      "I can see how a camera with this level of connectivity might be useful for a photo-journalist to get that snap of some wannabe WAG with her tits out straight back to the "news" desk, but can't see who else it would suit."

      There are plenty of ways of doing that already, albeit requiring peripherals for the 'phone. This particular camera is more for the casual user who wants a good camera and connectivity than for a full-on pro.

      "It would be lost on your average facebook snapper and I can't see a serious amateur photographer being interested. So it does beg the question quite why they've bothered."

      How about your average flikr user, or user of one of the other photo-sharing websites that are so popular. That's more of the target audience, I feel.

      As regards "why bother?", had you not noted that Samsung always have HUGE product ranges in order to cater for every niche and get a large overall market share.

      For more casual users, you'll be happy to hear that there is a smaller compact version already on the market, with or without 3G.

  12. Fihart

    And I thought DSLRs were hideous.

    That Samsung takes big and UGLY to the next level. As for including a phone -- I could see a few paps going for it to get shots to picture editors before the competition. But I can't help thinking of the early days of transistor radios when they were being rather pointlessly built into binoculars and sunglasses.

  13. Psyx

    "There are no clues on price just yet"

    Except Wex having it listed as £1299 on pre-order with a 18-55mm lens?

    http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-samsung-galaxy-nx-digital-camera-with-18-55mm-lens-black/p1540241

    1. mmeier

      For an APS-C crop camera? That will likely have an end of support 6 month from now since this is Android from VEB Plaste and Elaste? Holly Hannah!

      That is the price range of a two digit Canon EOS with some money to spare after I got the second lens (Kit with 18-55 and 55-250 EF-S is around 1300€ on Amazon). Or if you prefer another manufacturer - you will find similar systems for that price range. And support for years not month

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