Samsung Officially Announces Galaxy Round Curved Phone
So far this device is only launching in South Korea.
As expected, Samsung has officially introduced the Galaxy Round, a smartphone based on the company's flexible plastic display that allows the phone to sport a slight curve from left to right. The device is launching in South Korea via SK Telecom on October 10 in "Luxury Brown" for 1.09 million won, or roughly $1,000 USD.
According to the specs, the Galaxy Round features a 5.7 inch 1080p Super AMOLED display powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM 8974) SoC clocked at 2.3 GHz, 3 GB of RAM and a 2800 mAh battery. The device also provides 32 GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot for up to 64 GB of additional storage.
Additional specs include Wireless N, WiFi Direct and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, NFC, USB 3.0, GPS+GLONAS, and Samsung KNOX, making this device Enterprise-ready. The device is 7.9 mm thick, weighs 0.34 pounds, and includes a 13MP camera on the leather-and-stitch designed back. Google's Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean" is the OS of choice.
Samsung reports that the curved form factor enables features like Roll Effect, which allows the user to check information such as the date, time, missed calls and battery easily when home screen is off (see video below). There's also Gravity Effect that enables visual interactions with the screen by tilting the device, and Bounce UX for users to easily control their music.
"When the Galaxy Round’s display is off while the music player is running, a short press to the left of the device will play the previous track while a short press to the right will play the next track," the company reports on its Samsung Tomorrow blog. "For pictures and videos, the Side Mirror feature enables users to gain access to list of the album content with a left and right tilt."
The new form factor allows users to place their most desired controls closer to a preferred side of the screen. There's also Multi Windows, a feature that enables users to open more than one app on the screen. Thus Galaxy Round owners can run simultaneous multiple instances of the same application, or share content between apps.
Samsung didn't say when of it the phone will be sold outside South Korea, but did confirm that additional colors will be offered soon. Samsung provides an additional "hands-on" report here.
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Images: Samsung Tomorrow
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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CKKwan I wish something at this size is curve can fit nicely to the shape of my butt. So that I can put into my back pocket without any fear of breaking it. But this one doesn't seems to fit my butt nicely.Reply -
emike09 Freaking cool. Packed to the brim with specs, sleek, sexy look, and a brand new form factor, all in one sorta-expensive package. I'll buy one when it comes to the States.Reply -
Bloob Should be easier to reach the other side with your thumb, but the effect of the curve seems to me to mostly be just making the screen feel smaller. Not sure if this is a good thing without testing.Reply -
IndignantSkeptic Reply11682946 said:I wish something at this size is curve can fit nicely to the shape of my butt. So that I can put into my back pocket without any fear of breaking it. But this one doesn't seems to fit my butt nicely.
I thought you were going to say you wish you could curl it up more so you could shove it up buttholes since its totally pointless.
Why can't they do what is shown in this video, by just letting you get a curved case to put the phone in so you could still rock it? I have no interest in curved screens until I can roll-up large tablets to fit them in my pocket. -
g00fysmiley hideout makes a valid point why no wireless ac band, the note 3 has it. I will be interested in this phone more so than the note 3 if it is similarly priced plastic > glass screen i break phones to much and hope that might fix it, rumor had it this would be waterproof like the sony xperia but i guess not. guess i can still hope for a galaxy note 3 activReply -
coolitic 1000 dollars? I was thinking this was a good idea till i found out that instead you could buy a PC that can play anything in 3D and still look smooth.Reply