Now here's a Galaxy far, far away: Samsung stalls Fold rollout after fold-able screens break in hands of reviewers

Samsung has confirmed that its dual-screen Galaxy Fold handset, which was due to go on sale for $1,980 apiece this week in the US, has been delayed due to the touchscreen easily breaking. Early builds of the fold-able Fold were given out to selected journalists to review and praise earlier this month, though, within days of …

[Jemma]

Introducing the all new Allegro*...

By Samsung.

*It could be worse, look up the Vanden Plas 1500..

I've even got the tagline (thank you Fiat)

"Built by expendables, broken by morons"

What's wrong with a clamshell with a keyboard and a hinge - remember those - I remember those, I feel so old.

This is going to be a case of Triggers Broom. 16 new screens, 3 new batteries and one not very bright owner - eh Dave?

[PhilipN]

Remember those (2)

The original Google phone with a keyboard which folded out kinda sideways. I may still have mine in a drawer somewhere. I feel so ... far away.

Since when we have got used to phones which are virtually indestructible with normal everyday use such as keeping them in the back pocket while seated, tossing them carelessly onto the desk etc.

Ergo phones with moving bits do not stand a chance, although I shall be intrigued to find out whether Huawei have cracked it (so to speak).

[Sgt_Oddball]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

Wasn't that tag line suppose to be "designed on computer, built by robots" - always amended thus "driven by a moron"?

[Jemma]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

Technically yes - but they were advertising the Fiat Strada - the most godawful heap in a company famed for godawful heaps, if Baldric had been a car he would have been a Fiat Strada. I think it was originally "hand-built by robots" or something similar. Even a 1100 Allegro in baby skidmark brown would have had more showroom appeal.

Still it was better than the original Nissan Almera advert - "the car they don't want you to have" - so no one did.

[Baldrickk]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

Nah, it'd probably be an old Rover.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

As some else has already said that was the Fiat Strada - think the real advertising line was "designed by a computer, silenced by a laser, built by a robot" .... though the (at the time, and proabably still, stunning) TV ad used "handbuilt by robots as its tag line". TV ad was 2 mins long showing what appeared to be a completely automated production line building and painting the cars with a final section of 6 cars driving round a banked test track before driving onto a moving car transporter (Itallian job style)

Not the nine o'clock news did a spoof of the ad replacing the final section of the cars being driven with a massive car smash and the tag line "designed by robots, built by lasers, driven by Italians"

(As for the Allegro - my first car was an Allegro which an elderly aunt gave me as she wasn't driving any more - 8 years old with 8000 miles on the clock! - so I've a more positive view on the Allegro than most!)

[Andy The Hat]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

My mate passed his test in an instructor's new Allegro. He was commended on his clutch control as, despite having been back to the supplier twice, the hydroelastic suspension pumped up and down as the clutch engaged, making it a wicked thing to pull away in.

[Wilseus]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

My Dad bought a new Allegro in the '70s, the only brand new car he ever bought. Bear in mind he's a car enthusiast and has owned TVRs* etc, he says it wasn't crap, the only problem he ever had with it was that no matter what he did and how many times he took it back to the dealer, the boot always leaked.

_{*Yes I know TVRs aren't known for their reliability, although again from experience I think their bad reputation is somewhat exaggerated.}

[Jemma]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

Bet I can tell you why. They put the boot seal on backwards - so it fed water into the boot not away from it.

My dad's old boss had a brand new Mercedes - it rained heavily and the boot was a paddling pool, bordering on a trainee lake. It turned out to be the boot lid seal had been fitted backwards and directed the water into the car - a 500SEL convertible of all things.

They drained it and replaced all the damaged parts and put the seal on the right way - no more problem.

[DiViDeD]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

"TVRs aren't known for their reliability"

I'd take issue with that statement. Get behind the wheel of any TVR (especially the new ones built by mad Russians), and it will try to kill you. Every time.

Can't get more reliable than that.

[Ken Moorhouse]

Re: TVRs aren't known for their reliability,

These guys will look after you, they are passionate about them:-

http://www.enginuity.co.uk

(Disclaimer: No I don't have a TVR, they're customers of mine and you can tell from observation that they take great pride in their work).

[oiseau]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

What's wrong with a clamshell with a keyboard and a hinge - remember those - I remember those ...

Nothing ...

Just that some marketing drone many years ago pitched a different idea which was taken up by the industry, probably because it was er ... different.

I have the fondest recollections of my HP200lx and have always lamented HP slaughtering it mercilessly, something it actually did to itself some time after that.

It did have some problems (fragile battery door, right hinge cracking on some) but it was a grand design and served me well, even forgave me for risking its life to hack an extra 4mb on it.

Imagine what, with today's tech, you could do using the very same design parameters.

I see this foldable screen thing as a gimmick aimed at pockets with a deep lining, nothing else.

Even the most versatile material you can possibly imagine will eventually break or suffer damage if you go through enough fold/unfold operations.

That's precisely why the gods gave us hinges.

O.

[RNixon]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

>> What's wrong with a clamshell with a keyboard and a hinge - remember those - I remember those, I feel so old.

Well, if you want one, buy one! I have one of these https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini-pda-android-linux-keyboard-mobile-device--2#/ and rather like it.

They're coming out with a more expensive, fancier version too. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cosmo-communicator#/

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

I learnt to drive[1] in one of those (Austin Allegro) - I suspect that the driving instructor reasoned that, if you could manage to drive an Allego properly, you could drive anything.

I wasn't the worst car I've ever driven - that would be a pre-VW Skoda.

[1] Passed my test in 1982. First time (naturally).

[Danny 14]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

pre vw skoda? no way. I had an estelle. It was quite simply THE most fun drive you will ever have. The engine was just on the rear wheels and it had a concrete slab in the front boot, as such it was perfectly balanced. It would step out on command around roundabouts and straighten up nicely when exiting. Drifting was a normal part of wet road driving but it never felt like a ditch finder, take foot off the accelerator and it would catch again, no handbrake needed at all. Since the steering wheel was huge you soon built up muscles and it looked good when turning.

It was cast out of pure pig iron I think, having driven into many bollards, lamp posts and other things it never seemed to accumulate damage. The colour was originally blue but faded to turquoise in the sun. It never needed repairing, brake shoes and im not even sure it needed oil in the 2 years i ran it.

I miss that car, i still remember smoking 2 fags back to back after a run over hardknott pass. great times.

[bpfh]

Re: Introducing the all new Allegro*...

My step-grandfather swore by the Estelle, and had two of them, brilliant little cars, never had any issues with them, driving all across Europe. It was comfortable, interesting to drive with decent “boot” space under the bonnet if you took the spare wheel out. Sounded good too.

[NoneSuch]

Who Wants It In The First Place?

Two thousand dollars for a phone? Pass.

[djstardust]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

To people in the middle east who like to show off it's about the same price as a packet of sweets.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

And slightly longer lived.

I am reminded of someone I know whose family decided to go to Selfridges for Christmas shopping. They saw a crystal-encrusted iPhone for about £13000 and thought "what idiot would buy that?". And then an idiot in a headscarf came and bought one.

[werdsmith]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

Not an idiot though. Just someone who lives a life you can’t comprehend.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

To clarify, the post is not intended to be anti-Muslim (or indeed anti-Arab). It was purely reporting someone else's observation. But there is a difference between spending £13k on jewellery which has some artistic merit (and value), and the equivalent of putting stickers on a phone case while setting fire to £20 notes. Quite simply, you may or may not be right about whether I can comprehend such a lifestyle (I presume one of your footmen writes your Register posts?), but I and my interlocutor are quite clear that we'd prefer not to think like that. It is after all possible to be rich and have taste; it has led to what we call "civilisation", and the contents of the Louvre and the Uffizi, for starters. But it is also possible to be rich and have no taste,and some unkind people might say that was why the burning down of a warehouse containing "Britart" resulted in amusement rather than concern over cultural loss.

[Waseem Alkurdi]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

I'm a Muslim (Kurdish, as obvious from my surname), and I totally agree w/ the idea of your post. It's not only phones, it's their whole lifestyle of excess induglence in ill-gotten $$$$$$$$.

This money could be better spent on people who need that (see Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, MD for instance).

[DavCrav]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

"Just someone who lives a life you can’t comprehend."

Yep, someone who steps over homeless people to buy a jewel-encrusted iPhone.

[Jellied Eel]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

Not an idiot though. Just someone who lives a life you can’t comprehend.

I think it's pretty easy to comprehend. The person who drops $13k or (or $2k) on a phone is a person with more money that sense, and wants to show that to the world. And like their probable jewel encrusted Rolex, help keep police robbery squads gainfully employed.

The smart money glues Swarovski 'crystals' to a phone and makes bank when some mug buys it.. Which is some pretty awesome marketing flogging bling. Their scopes aren't bad though. And the smart money generally spends just enough to get a phone that works, because smart money people tend not to waste it.

On the other hand.. couldn't the two halves of a clam communicate wirelessly? Then a battery in each half, some jewel encrusted hinges and call it good. Guessing there'd be some challenges with data rates to refresh screens, and it'd cost a few bucks more than some flexi-cable.

[werdsmith]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

So somebody assumes a person who has a fortune that increases faster than they can spend it is an idiot.

I might assume that that the somebody is burning with envy, after all the rich person could buy your house and your car with his small change and not even notice an effect on their fortune.

We could both be we wrong, or right.

A person buys an expensive trinket, just as has been happening since there has been trade, we can presume that he wants to show the world his wealth, or maybe it has is a gift for someone else. We don’t know. Neither do we know if that person is not also giving ten times the amount to charity every month.

Of course you can disapprove, but to assume they are idiots or mugs is the same prejudice as any other.

[Waseem Alkurdi]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

You might be right, but if it's headscraved folk in the Gulf, it's unfortunately mostly true. Though I don't live in the Arabian Gulf, I've met many many people from there, and while some are really awesome folk, they are mostly show-off scumbags. This is not because *they* want to be, but it's a result of the lifestyle they live, where they see everybody else as inferior toerags who only exist to serve them ...

This sort of people couldn't care less about religion (many associate themselves with atheism or secular ideals) ... because it forces limits on their freedom of scumbaggery. (Is that a word?), and because (Islam) forces you to donate a minimum of 2.5% of your wealth per year directly to the poor as a pillar of faith ... not something favorable to many ...

True, it's not everybody, but many many people there act that way, to an extent that the generalization is not really overrated.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

The funny thing is that you read far more into my original post than I intended. The second "idiot" merely reflected the first one. You may be a multimillionaire with a rapidly increasing fortune, you may resent anyone who dares to suggest that there is anything wrong with conspicuous consumption, but I'm glad I haven't had your sense of humour bypass.

It isn't all about you.

[werdsmith]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

Goalpost shifting there.

I’m just talking about judging people you know nothing about. For all you know the person was a lowly employee sent to purchase on an errand. However, attempts to back-track and wriggle out of it by suggesting it was a joke (a second attempt to explain different ways) judging someone with a headscarf who you know nothing about as an idiot, I’m pleased to say my level of humour is not way down there with yours, suggesting I don’t have a sense of humour, well that’s just another assumptive judgement about something you know nothing about,

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

If you read the original post, I wasn't there at the time.

But if we're on about "judging people you know nothing about", I'll agree I am pot if you admit to being kettle. You really seem very personally invested in this.

[JohnFen]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

"For all you know the person was a lowly employee sent to purchase on an errand."

In that case, the person was acting as a proxy for their employer, and as such the "idiot" label is proxied right back and applies to that employer.

[JohnFen]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

> So somebody assumes a person who has a fortune that increases faster than they can spend it is an idiot.

No. But wasting that fortune on stuff that is clearly bullshit certainly does make one suspect idiocy.

Personally, I like that these people do this sort of thing. It helps to make them visible and easier to avoid. More importantly, it makes it easier to know to avoid doing business with them. I have nixed a couple of business deals because of this sort of thing.

[Avatar of They]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

To me $2000 is 3 mortgage payments,

Or keeping my car on the road for a year - all MOT, tax, service, insurance, fuel and parking fees.

[Alan Johnson]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

The point of buying a stupidly over ostentatious diamond encrusted watch, iPhone or whatever is that it is very very expensive. The point is that it costs far more than it should do. The pruchase is a straightforward display of wealth and the fact that the item in question is both less aesthetically pleasing and poorer ergonomically and from a usability point of view simply reinforces the message that money does not matter to the purchaser. The ugliness and pointlessness is part of the point of the purchase it says a have so much money I don't care if I spend £13K on an ugly phone when I could get a better one for less than a tenth of the price.

The purchaser is probably hopelessly shallow, crass and obsessed with their own wealth but not necessarily an idiot.

[JohnFen]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

"The purchaser is probably hopelessly shallow, crass and obsessed with their own wealth but not necessarily an idiot."

I think that being a shallow person so obsessed with proving their wealth to other people is an idiotic thing to be.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

"I think that being a shallow person so obsessed with proving their wealth to other people is an idiotic thing to be."

It's worth remembering that not only are there significant cultural differences, but a lot of these gulf state billionaires are only second or third generation away from being little more than desert nomads. US tech billionaires, by contrast, seem to spend their money on flash houses, flash super-yachts and flash cars. Not to mention Russian oligarchs.

Although now that I think if it, maybe not so much contrast as similarity.

[royprime]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

I could just imagine about 10 minutes later on the street and then it's nabbed by a moped rider that's just got his Christmas sorted.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

Probably an IT contractor who's not paying their fair share of tax so money no object.

[Mark 85]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

They're trying to lure the Apple fans with something even shinier probably.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

I know! For that kind of money you can get into a a portable (laptop) workstation. I know because I've been checking System76 workstation laptops. I understand the different use cases but come on. Phones and iPads should not cost as much as a real computing device. System76 will even remove the the microphone and speaker(s), I forgot to ask about the removing the built in camera, I suspect they will. I can add those as peripherals as required.

PS I neither work for, have an economic relationship with nor am I related to anyone who does any of the aforementioned with or for System76. to my knowledge. :)

[Kubla Cant]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

I know! For that kind of money you can get into a a portable (laptop) workstation.

It's curious that bling never made it to real computers*. Back in the heyday of desktop workstations I used to wonder if there was a market opportunity building managerial PCs with mahogany cases and brass keys (that being the fashionable office style for the upper echelons at the time).

Of course, the real mark of status was to have a workstation that was never powered on. Your assistant printed any incoming emails and you dictated responses. Does this still happen? We know Trump does his own tweeting, but that's probably because of his amazingly powerful brain.

* Unless someone knows otherwise...

[FrogsAndChips]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

I remember a Ferrari co-branded laptop (can't recall the manufacturer) which would allow you to pay a nice premium for the privilege of displaying a horse sticker on the back of your screen.

[royprime]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

Acer, an ok spec laptop back in the day, loaded with XP x64 of all things the version I ended up with,. Nothing worth writing home about, but came with a quite nice bluetooth mouse which I've still got & works. The laptop lasted as long as most Acers do, so long since recycled.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

We bought one (half price due to business relationship) because, as you say, it ran XP x64 and was extremely portable, so great for software demonstrations.

It was also indestructible and was finally abandoned because the memory couldn't be expanded enough.

People forget Acer was a trailblazer in 64 bit laptops.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

There was actually someone IIRC who made a living out of putting monitors in mahogany cases along with keyboard cases, though the keys were teak or mahogany with brass fittings. But it was very niche.

The one I saw at a show and actually liked was a monstrosity that had the monitor mounted below a glass desk surface at an angle, and a keyboard on a shelf below desk level, so your C-suite guy could appear not be be sullying his fingers with computers. And ask awkward questions about the month's figures apparently from memory.

[JohnFen]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

"Does this still happen?"

Yes, it absolutely does. But it tends to be a generational thing, mostly limited to executives nearing or past retirement age.

[Danny 14]

Re: Who Wants It In The First Place?

in my youth i spent money like it was going out of fashion. I used to earn about 12k disposable at 18 (armed forces engineering officer) and had a fetish for fast motorbikes. I bought a second hand gpz900r on a whim and hooned it back from germany to the ferry in holland each week. i saved for a brand new cbr900 and managed to ride fully wound out (and be overtaken). I saved nothing and didnt think of the future. It was only when i hit 24 i decided to stop being silly and spent my now captain wages on a house and car (ford escort rs cosworth....)

sometimes money doesnt mean much to you.

[JohnFen]

What happened to testing?

These failures seem like the sort that would have rapidly been found internally by just using the things as their daily drivers for a few weeks. Was that not done?

[Mark 85]

Re: What happened to testing?

The new paradigm that's an extension of MS... "We let our customers do our testing.". Meh.... a pox on all of them.

[SonOfDilbert]

Re: What happened to testing?

I thought this was more generally part of the Agile process...

[TonyJ]

Re: What happened to testing?

In this case, more generally part of the fragile process...

;-)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What happened to testing?

Move fast, break things.

Perhaps that's the plan: you pay your $2000, every three weeks or so a new one is delivered with a mechanical bugfix.

[bpfh]

Re: What happened to testing?

And true to Samsung's plethora of models, bugfix supports ends after 2 months :)

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: What happened to testing?

bugfix supports ends after 2 months

Or whenever the phone catches fire - whichever is sooner.

[DuncanLarge]

Re: What happened to testing?

"I thought this was more generally part of the Agile process..."

I really hope that thats not the case and car manufacturers dont start applying (fr)agile development models to new car designs.

I'd rather not be the unwitting alpha tester of the ABS braking system.

[RFC822]

Re: What happened to testing?

I'd rather not be the unwitting alpha tester of the ABS braking system.

Is that the Anti-lock Braking System Braking System?

[theblackhand]

Re: What happened to testing?

"Is that the Anti-lock Braking System Braking System?"

Yes - for when the braking system breaks too fast and needs to brake to avoid breaking.

[Kubla Cant]

Re: What happened to testing?

Good point, but I believe ABS actually stands for Antiblockiersystem.

[A.P. Veening]

Re: What happened to testing?

I really hope that thats not the case and car manufacturers dont start applying (fr)agile development models to new car designs.

It seems like a certain airplane manufacturer did start applying fragile development to certain new and upgraded airplane designs.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What happened to testing?

It has a long history - see the Zero fighter and the Spruce Goose.

[A.P. Veening]

Re: What happened to testing?

One was a different country (with by now updated standards), the other a project by Mr. Granola.

[JohnFen]

Re: What happened to testing?

Technically, it's not part of Agile at all. However, far too many organizations do Agile in a way that incorporates it.

[Charlie Clark]

Re: What happened to testing?

To be honest, we know that lots of testing has been done with these phones. We don't really know the problem with the review phones, especially whether it can be fixed or not.

[Paratrooping Parrot]

Need better testing

I am guessing that the robots doing the screen folding test was in a pristine environment. They should have handed it to some testers to carry out better testing out in the world. I guess they are worried about photos appearing in the press before their official announcement.

At least they are halting the rollout and are not calling users stupid for holding it wrongly.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Need better testing

From my experience, a week in the hands of a herd of 5 year olds is the rough equivalent of the destructive forces of a few months military use in hostile territory, but cheaper on transport.

There's no way they've tested this with end users. I'm guessing the need for secrecy may have gotten in the way, but that would have been another advantage of 5 year olds :).

It's a good thing that Samsung also makes other stuff, this failure is not going to cause them to, er, fold..

:)

[DavCrav]

Re: Need better testing

"I'm guessing the need for secrecy may have gotten in the way, but that would have been another advantage of 5 year olds :)."

Hang on, a five-year old will tell every person every thing. I assume you mean that you don't need to worry about secrecy with five-year olds, because you will never have any.

[BebopWeBop]

Re: Need better testing

Correction - may tell you much but not who stole the cookies

[bpfh]

Re: Need better testing

If you are still using Internet Explorer, it could be anyone...

[doublelayer]

Re: Need better testing

They may tell you everything, but many of them don't really understand the thing you gave them. So as long as you choose ones with a less technical mindset, all they'll be able to say to someone after they've broken the device is "So it's like a phone, but not, but big and like two phones but only one sometimes but also two, and breaky and you can move it around and watch the lights". I think that, if you know enough to identify the children being used, you might know that much already about the product.

[Frank Bitterlich]

Re: Need better testing

"... you're folding it wrong."

The one with the Galaxy Fold in the pockets please, one half in each.

[hellwig]

Screen Film

Odd, since for many part of the joy of a new phone is peeling off the factory-fitted screen protectors, and clearly even tech savvy reviewers fell prey to temptation.

My understanding is that the stupid plastic layer was peeling itself off the screen, and the reviewer(s) in question thought it was actually a shipping film, and not the layer they were supposed to leave in place.

So it's still back to the quality issue. If pieces of your phone should not be peeled off, make sure they don't peel themselves off first.

[Lord Elpuss]

Re: Screen Film

The reviewers peeled it off, thinking it was a removable screen protector because it didn't extend right to the edge of the screen. It didn't peel off by itself.

[Steve Davies 3]

A total failure

but in the end we might get a foldable phone that works.

Samsung was silly to rush this out like they did. A footgun moment if there ever was one.

They got it wrong and are being made to pay for it in the media.

I have to hope that V2.0 actually works.

We will get foldables eventually but people need to remember that 'Rome wasn't built in a day'.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: A total failure

We will get foldables eventually

I am presently still at a loss to work out why we'd want them, though..

[Richard 12]

Re: A total failure

A lot of people really want a bigger screen, but don't have bigger pockets or bigger hands.

I know several people who want the biggest screen possible, in many cases because their phone is their main Internet browser.

An Expanse-style holographic screen would be great, but given that isn't coming anytime soon, a screen that folds or rolls up is the next best thing.

[Waseem Alkurdi]

Re: A total failure

I know several people who want the biggest screen possible, in many cases because their phone is their main Internet browser.

That'd be me, but I've settled for an 11.6" convertible laptop.

[Lord Elpuss]

Re: A total failure

Me too - I've gone for an iPhone XS Max with a folio stand and a separate keyboard for when I really need to type.

[slartybartfast]

Re: A total failure

‘A lot of people really want a bigger screen, but don't have bigger pockets or bigger hands.’

A separate smartphone and tablet would do the job for a lot less money than this silly expensive phone. I often go out with a small shoulder bag or rucksack (which I also carry other things) so carrying around a tablet isn’t a big deal. Most of the time I just go out with a phone as staring at a large screen is unnecessary and impractical anyway. I’d hate to be walking on a street or on public transport with a Galaxy Fold fully open. It would literally be asking to get stolen. The city where I live has many thief hotspots, especially near train stations, so I tend to only use a phone when absolutely necessary.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: A total failure

"A separate smartphone and tablet would do the job for a lot less money than this silly expensive phone."

That's what people said about the first laptops.

[DuncanLarge]

Re: A total failure

Just pointing out that the devices in The Expanse were not like our smartphones. They had limited processing power and storage and were made to be cheap, almost disposable, interfaces to a local network providing all the services etc.

They were basically the handheld/holographic version of a chromebook.

Your data would follow you between networks/ships with some local storage and processing possible on the "hand terminal" when you had no connection etc.

[DropBear]

Re: A total failure

"interfaces to a local network providing all the services"

Yes, so exactly like our smartphones then.

[Gene Cash]

Re: A total failure

Google Maps. It'd be nice to have a map you can actually read.

Though at the rate they're trying to cover up the "Maps" part with ads and "Explore" shit, it won't matter...

[juice]

Re: A total failure

Yeps - having over a third of the screen covered by a "Explore nearby" popup is highly annoying, especially with larger handsets where you have to stretch to reach the middle of the screen to close the popup.

And while it's slightly off-topic, but I'm increasingly annoyed by how unreliable the desktop version is (as compared to the Android version) when it comes to displaying saved markers. I recently added some markers to a city I want to visit, to try and work out where the most convenient location for a hotel, and they would only show at certain zoom levels: zooming in or out would cause them to vanish.

Equally, it doesn't appear to be possible to export markers from Google Maps into Google My Maps, or vice versa. And you can't tag markers from a "My Maps" overlay. And you can't bulk-edit markers (e.g. to reset them all when revisiting a route). And and and...

*grump*

(Yes, it's virtual Monday. Yes, I spent a chunk of the weekend repairing relative's printers and laptops. Yes, I haven't had enough caffeine yet. Why do you ask?)

[timrowledge]

Re: A total failure

Foldable isn’t really the end though - rollable is much more desirable. Think scroll. Think something like an 8” dildo with the screen pulling out to maybe A4 total size. Pull out a couple of inches to see messages or contact list for a phone all. Pull out all the way to get a nice big view of a map.

And you - yes, you boy, stop sniggering.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: A total failure

Think something like an 8” dildo with the screen pulling out to maybe A4 total size.

I think you just added to the use cases of what people do with that device after the battery dies. I'm positive someone will find a way to sell that as a feature.

:)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: A total failure

and if it vibrates when the phone rings, all the better

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: A total failure

> if it vibrates when the phone rings, all the better

"Auto-redial me again!"

[Fred Flintstone]

Re: A total failure

At last, finally a use for those marketing calls..

:)

[TheFirstChoice]

Re: A total failure

You really don't want anything made by Samsung containing a battery anywhere near your nether regions!

[spold]

Re: A total failure

Male designers - despite the claim, it's actually only 4"

[Shadow Systems]

Rome wasn't built in a day.

True. It took nearly a week. The slaves building it kept taking breaks to check their iPapyrusPads.

Sorry, I'll get my coat. It's the one with the FlipPhone in the pocket. ;-)P

[Steve K]

Re: A total failure

'Rome wasn't built in a day'.

It would have been but they were waiting for the undercoat to dry...…

((C) Mel Smith/Griff Rhys Jones circa mid-1980s....)

[DuncanLarge]

Re: A total failure

"but in the end we might get a foldable phone that works."

Why would I want a fold-able phone? I'd prefer a fold-able car, able to have bits folded away at the push of a button to fit (or drive out of) a tight parking space made tight by the guy who cant park.

However. I WOULD love a fold-able phone that is as thin as a few sheets of A4 paper when unfolded, folds down to a pocket-able size from a fully unfolded A4 size.

Even better would be a fold-able e-ink display in the same format allowing me to have an A4 sized kindle with smartphone functions that folds into a device I can put in my pocket that only is as thick as a standard smartphone when folded.

[royprime]

Re: A total failure

Well, you could get this from China

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Om1_I09ow

[DiViDeD]

Re: A total failure

"We will get foldables eventually"

Will we though? Anyone else remember the 'rollable' Readius eReader, which became an increasingly bulky foldable segmented eReader, before finally sending Polymer Vision bankrupt?

[Ken Moorhouse]

Android version 4.4

They should have brought this phone out when Android 4.4 was the latest version. It would have gone very well with the "Have A Break, Have A KitKat" marketing campaign.

[Fred Flintstone]

Re: Android version 4.4

OK, but that would have required 3 hinges, not one.

:)

[Waseem Alkurdi]

Re: Android version 4.4

A la Xiaomi foldables?

[DCdave]

Re: Android version 4.4

Or not, KitKats come in ahem, two finger versions too, allowing you to wave two fingers at Samsung.

[Jay Lenovo]

Back to the Lab

Take a common problem with cell phones (broken screens) and make it even more precarious, at a higher price.

How about pairing it with some fold-able Samsung batteries. What could go wrong?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Back to the Lab

You could turn the problem around, I guess - making the breaking a feature.

"Like a light stick, you first need to fold this phone before it powers up"

No, wait, it's Samsung. Only Microsoft marketing would dare to try that one.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Back to the Lab

"How about pairing it with some fold-able Samsung batteries."

If the screens break so frequently you can easily replace batteries without having an embarrassing public recall?

[Stuart Halliday]

Mind boggling that Samsung never got these phones used by professional Western (there are cultural differences) Testers.

Alternatively just give them to a 8 year old for a day.....?

[VikiAi]

Funny that,

I and a few others that predicted exactly this quite a few months back were down-voted to oblivion.

[cotswoldst]

Got lucky

Unbox Therapy opened and closed the Fold 1000 times. Probably the most boring 20mins of your life watching it.

Skip to the end and you'll see there's nothing wrong with the screen as a result.

I guess he got the good one.

[ThatOne]

Re: Got lucky

The problem is most likely not just with simply opening and closing it, else Samsung would had spotted it. It's with Real Life™ interfering: Dust, humidity, temperature changes, all that.

Also there is no record that they all broke; Just a significant amount of them. 0.1% of failure might go unnoticed on a test sample of 10, but will show up as soon as thousands of them are in the hands of users. (My point is insufficient testing at prototype stage. Were they wrong to try? No, they just needed to try a little harder (no pun intended).)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Got lucky

Yep. Folding it at an awkward angle (and this the layers coming apart), or letting play dough get in the hinge seems to be the current problems.

This is all first gen problems, that are hopefully fixed later in gen 2. Still bad to release in this condition though!

PS, I hope all those "but who needs this" idiots and "who would buy thing" waste of spaces are still using stone tables and codexes... because "who needs" paper books or digital devices... right?

[slartybartfast]

Re: Got lucky

‘PS, I hope all those "but who needs this" idiots and "who would buy thing" waste of spaces are still using stone tables and codexes... because "who needs" paper books or digital devices... right?’

Sorry, but what a moronic thing to say. It costs far too much and there are plenty of perfectly decent phones and tablets already for a lot less money. People not seeing this as necessary doesn’t mean they are living in the past. We’re all using up to date technology, not ‘stone tablets and codexes’.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Moronic?

"It costs far too much and there are plenty of perfectly decent phones and tablets already for a lot less money."

Said about every bit of tech, especially computing, ever.

Yes, I agree it's currently too expensive. But so was a pocket calculator, and now I'd be called a Moron if I told you you don't need the phone you have, lightyears ahead of a calculator!

Yes, I'm the moron. /s

[A.P. Veening]

Re: Got lucky

PS, I hope all those "but who needs this" idiots and "who would buy thing" waste of spaces are still using stone tables and codexes... because "who needs" paper books or digital devices... right?

Just for your information, I use codexes just about daily, like most literate people. And we do this for the reason that real books are too much of an effort with that endless scrolling. And yes, I am perfectly aware most people nowadays call a codex a bound book or even shorter a book. But please quite being so negative about codexes, it shows more about you than I care to know.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Got lucky

Yes. But your "codex" is very much not still on papyrus! IE, we made improvements, and we did not bawk at them!

[A.P. Veening]

Re: Got lucky

I think you missed my point, a codex is already an improvement on a book. And what is wrong with using parchment? But I agree using dead trees is more economical and easier.

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Got lucky

And what is wrong with using parchment?

Nothing - if you want your text to last a long, long time. I never understood why Parliament stopped using it..

And it's even re-usable with careful scraping!

[elvisimprsntr]

Who thinks the Galaxy Fold would survive the beach sand test?

[Anonymous Coward]

This also makes me wonder about its practicality in a Canadian winter. If you kept it in your jacket's outside pocket with an temperature of -20 degrees Celsius and tried to fold open the screen as soon as you walked into your office or home. Sometimes specific devices for specific use cases are the way to go. For instance, I have a phone for calls and texting, a Garmin for travel routes, a laptop for my personal computing usage, and a desktop at work. I keep beating the drum for a phone about the size of an iPhone 4 with a side slide, hard keyboard for texting. I had an LG Rumour 2 that worked wonderfully, but as I age find that I need a larger screen. I think the iPhone 4 screen size would suffice. Manufactures need to get on board with us 50+ aged people. We are a massive demographic and have different needs than our children, in their 20s and 30s.

[SNAFUology]

a Rubix phone

not the cube, the other one, with a set of flat foldable panels that flip over and over. different configurations for different purposes all to meant drive you crazy.

Foldable phone, it brings to mind the maps with their folds wrongly folded, tears and worn segments along the seams, when all I want is a home phone with a reasonable hand set that is comfortable to hold and use, buttons that are the size of my fingers and a simple screen I don't have to touch, can see in the light or dark, and I don't drop forget or lose.

am so done with the intrusive mobile annoyance.

[oiseau]

Re: a Rubix phone

all I want is a home phone with a reasonable hand set that is comfortable to hold and use, buttons that are the size of my fingers and a simple screen I don't have to touch, can see in the light or dark, and I don't drop forget or lose.

I've said the same thing so many times ...

Thank you!

Have one/two/three on me ---->

[SW10]

Re: a Rubix phone

it brings to mind the maps with their folds wrongly folded

Reminds me of the old adage that says:

“There’s only one way to fold a map: Wrongly.”

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung

Bad batteries

Bad foldy screens

Bad stock price

Bad

[Anonymous Coward]

You're not bending it right!!!

$2,000 !!!

People are mad.

[Jedit]

Re: You're not bending it right!!!

So now we've had the phone people don't know how to hold and the phone people don't know how to fold. When are we going to get the phone people don't know how to walk away from and the phone people don't know how to run?

[Anonymous Coward]

Peelings..

Peelings, nothing more than peelings,

Trying to forget my feelings of love

Teardrops rolling down on my face,

Trying to forget my feelings of love

Peeeeelings, wo-o-o peeelings

(and so on :) )

As far as I know, it wasn't written by Morris Albert, but it's the version I recall from some deep memory cells.

And no, it's a p*ss take - I may *like* a piece of kit for its utility, but I reserve love for the ever decreasing set of humans worthy of it.

[Jedit]

"it's the version I recall from some deep memory cells"

Gary Larson made the joke in a Far Side cartoon. That's probably where you got it from.

[Anonymous Coward]

Prediction: It *will* crack from the edges of the fold.

Which will be mysteriously not covered by the warranty.

[Black Betty]

You're folding it wrong.

Watching the fold test these devices underwent to demonstrate the 100K fold cycles, I noticed that the devices under test were being firmly held at 6 points (all 4 corners and the middle of each side). Funny thing is we don't have suction cups on our fingers, so the average numpty is probably opening this thing with one thumb in the middle and the other at the bottom, which is going to put twisting forces on both the screen and hinges.

[DropBear]

Re: You're folding it wrong.

Centuries later this will be known in the history books as the pivotal gaffe that unravelled the world-wide conspiracy hiding our alien cephalopodean overlords bringing about their downfall...

[jmch]

Fold in vs fold out

I was wondering about this... at first I assumed fold would be like clamshell 'fold in' but when understanding that means crimping the screen really tight it looked to me like fold out should be a no-brainer. After all, current phone screens are exposed all the time and have no problems unless dropped / hit / otherwise abused. Folding on a much larger radius, on the other hand, gives a lot more, ahem, flexibility in the screen design parameters with respect to folding

[wyatt]

For some reason I keep reading it as 'Galaxy Ford' not fold.

[John Brown (no body)]

Me too! Which weird as it's Ford Galaxy, not Galaxy Ford.

[Povl H. Pedersen]

Apple was first

Apple was first with the foldable telephone that broke the screen.

Look back at iPhone 6 and #bendgate.

Samesong is just soo late at copying Apple failures.

[spold]

Failure to launch

...the pre-installed origami app was not such a good idea in retrospect

[mhenriday]

Huawei Mate X

It will be interesting to see if Huawei chooses to go ahead with the launch of its foldable phone on 20 June as planned....

Henri

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Huawei Mate X

Oh, I expect it will go to Chinese reviewers only, with a high social credit score. A social credit score which will go up even further when the favourable review gets published. Perhaps none will be sold outside China due to local demand.

[DropBear]

"much tighter fold, with a severe angle"

I would have guessed both Samsung's and Huawei's screens folded pretty much the approximately same angle of 180 degrees and folding radius was the difference of significance, but that's just me...

[89724102172714182892114I7551670349743096734346773478647892349863592355648544996312855148587659264921]

I love my Gemini, a proper fold up phone. Can't wait for the Cosmo Communicator.

[Mikel]

Recycling

I wonder how many foldy screen phones they're going to have to recycle.

[Joe Gurman]

"A beautiful idea slain by an ugly fact"

Or alternately, an absurd idea that fits the definition of a thneed (Dr. Seuss's, not the Once-er's, who defined it as "Something that everyone needs"): something no one needs, at a price no one with a finite budget would pay.

Reg hacks should remember that the next time they accuse Apple of producing "idiot tax" merchandise.

[Anonymous South African Coward]

Bah, clamshell design for me, that is good enough.

Anything will break when going through an open/close fold sequence for long enough. Except a well-designed hinge and assorted gubbins.

Nintendo's double-screen Game and Watch's a very good example of this.