Samsung likes to play with hardware gimmicks to see gauge consumers interest , and the Galaxy Note Edge is the one of these test. While the company can craft and mass produces the quirky hardware they don’t have the chops to build software to take advantage of it. The Note Edge is the almost the same phone as the Note 4, but it has the screen the curves over the right side. The “edge” of the screen is a toolbar where quick shortcuts, notification, tools, and even a ruler lives.
Looking at the phone it looks beautiful, however its going to stick out in a crowd. At South By many people took second looks at the phone and a few asked if it really was a Note Edge. While most consumers know the Note and Galaxy, they’ve only heard whispers about the phone. This is because Samsung is testing the hardware with consumers to see if someone would buy it or if it could really have real world uses. Obviously some folks bought the phone or Samsung enjoys wasting money, because they’ve announced the Galaxy S6 Edge.
The specs of the phone are the same as the Note 4, so at its core its a great and powerful phone. The screens beautiful, with a large battery, and the S Pen that isn’t that useful. The large size of the screen and the phones curved screen makes holding the phone a little tricky. I found that I had to use one hand to hold it and one to use it. On top of that I often hit the edge of the screen which opened apps, turned on the flashlight, and started music. The neatest and only feature that I found useful was a virtual ruler on the edge.
If Samsung would have optimized Android for the curved screen and changed how it worked more the phone could have more use. I did love having high usages apps always showing, but it’s not difficult to navigate to the home screen. The edge of the screen servers as the notification and control bar on top and a place to save apps you use often. As I above I often accidentally opened apps because my palm would rest on the screen, and the software would think I’m pressing one of the apps. Curved screens could become the future of smartphones, but this drastic of a curve and without a purpose isn’t helping the curve screen cause. It’s making the curve screens seem more of a gimmick than having productivity boast or ergonomic purpose. This goes back to Samsung not having the chops to build software that takes advantage of the hardware fully. They’ve yet to grasp what consumers want, and clearly don’t understand design based off of TouchWiz.
Overall the phones powerful, beautiful, and quirky but the curve screen doesn’t boast productivity or serve a real purpose. If they could find a purpose for the curve the phone could appeal to some users, but now its nothing more than a novelty.
I may not understand the Note Edge, but I’d love to hear what you think about the Note Edge in the comments below!
