Curved is good
I don't know how many of you remember really old phone handsets, but they too, were curved.
It was a good, basic ergonomic design then and still is, but I'm not buying a 6" phone. That's just too damn big.
LG has announced a new slim yet curvy smartphone model: a six-inch phablet dubbed the LG G Flex. The South Korean company popped out a statement in that nation's language to let us all know the G Flex is a well-rounded gadget running Android 4.2.2, packing a 720p OLED screen and with a “self-healing” rear that erases its own …
I think the desire to have the mouthpiece near your mouth is mostly psychological- multiple microphone noise cancellation does a pretty good job these days.
Still, I really liked the ergonomics of some 'slider' phones: Slide open to take a call, slide shut to end it.
>That said, being curved in this plane makes more sense than the Samsung version!
I dunno, the Samsung will fit against the thigh if placed in a front trouser pocket in 'portrait' orientation.
"I think the desire to have the mouthpiece near your mouth is mostly psychological..."
I'm sort of arguing just to argue here, but technology hasn't come so far to make sound non-directional to the human ear. Just because current tech. is working around this the best it can, doesn't mean it's a psychological issue. It might mean, however, that companies have just been "on the cheap" and have not bothered to work around this directional issue.
That being said, I don't see how this particular fixed angle is going to help quality at all. If anything is psychological, then this phone is using marketing techniques that are dependent on psychosis...because my reality sees no need for it.
Some of us oldies with aging eyesight and massive thumbs need the bigger screens. I always hated the dinky mobiles which came in after the bricks were phased out. At least these slimline bricks are large for a reason!
However, I am not impressed with the curved malarkey. I like my phones to be flat.
Pretty much confirmed.
I have a 4.7" smartphone, and even when I literally push it as close to my face as possible, hitting the bridge of my nose, I can still see all of it.
In a real IMAX cinema, if you're sat a little closer than the middle rows, you easily have to start turning your heard to see the edges. In IMAX Dome (OMNIMAX) you have no hope of seeing all the screen at once. That's the idea.
"I have a 4.7" smartphone, and even when I literally push it as close to my face as possible, hitting the bridge of my nose, I can still see all of it."
I'm sure that's true.
As an aside. I have a nice large flat screen TV at home. However I have noticed, when I'm holding my iPad, if I take an "artists measurement" (hold my thumb a fixed distance from my eyes, between my eyes and the object I'm looking at) that an iPad in hand occupies a larger space in the visual field than a large (54 inch) TV 3 meters away. So in theory you have superior viewing on a tablet computer than on the TV at average viewing distances (obviously not iMax standard, I know). There are other factors that need to be taken into account of course. Such as how good your eyesight is and if you are short sighted or long sighted, that can affect quality of the experience. Also there is undoubtedly a considerable psychological factor at play, where our brains tell us the TV is bigger and so somehow viewing it feels more comfortable. But also, viewing video on a tablet device, especially with quality earphones plugged in, once you forget about the medium you are viewing on, is more satisfying than perhaps we tend to give it credit for if we are not aware of this "fact." Also small tablet sized screens generally have better colour fidelity than larger TV sized screens - though huge improvements have been made by TV's recently on that score, so overall they are close to being on par now.
Is it saying, "People are used to buying cases for their phones, so why on earth would LG think durability is a feature?"
That seemed pretty odd at first, but after half an hour of praying to Steve, I realised that I was just being a pushy consumer and accepted His ways. I love phone cases!
Makes sense to me. People are used to buying rubbers for their shoes, so why would waterproof footwear be a feature? People are used to garaging their cars, so why would weather-resistant finishes be a feature? People are used to painting their houses, so why make long-lasting exterior paints?
Indeed, why make anything better than barely adequate? We consumers demand expensive crap which requires more overpriced crap to make it last even a year or two!
"LG says the curved shape fits the human face better than straight phones, makes for better sound, gets somewhere near re-creating the experience of watching an IMAX movie "
Oh do fuck off.*
Unless they have added ringtones, the sounds of people rustling their crisps and asking their mates what just happened at the top of their voice because they were busy checking twitter when the plot broke open.
Steven R
*Assuming this is part of LGs marketing hype, and not something added by the author - if it's the latter, I'll reduce that to an eye-roll out of politeness.
And it looks really thin! Look at that profile.
It'll fit the shirt pocket just fine, it's not THAT curved, just like your chest is not flat.
It's more organic and less regimental than the dull monoliths, which makes it more friendly in a way. And it's certainly eye catching.
Why does everything have to look the same to be acceptable these days?
This is the best and coolest looking phone I've seen, but that's JUST my personal opinion. You can stick with your perfect box shapes if you want. I can see these catching on, but damn, I can't even buy one here!
So using the power of the internet the viewing angle at 3 feet for a 6 inch screen is stated as 7.6 degrees.Given this limited viewing angle Id say its total advertising hyperbole to say a curved screen is better for viewing on such a small screen.
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html#anchor_13194
...is to distract you from the fact that the screen resolution isn't 1080p like Sammy's flagship phones.
And at the cost of not being able to put it flat on your desk, and it having an awkward shape to fit in your front pockets (does their warranty cover damage from putting your phone in your back pocket and then crushing it when you sit down?).
Stupid gimmick - surely done just to me-too samsung.
I don't think the curviness will catch on. I may be wrong, it looks quite pocket-friendly, but it's not as versatile as a flat-screen phone (I can't believe I just said "flat-screen phone" like it was a thing).
I think the screen itself will be obsolete soon. I see a walkman-style phone you never have to take out of your pocket unless you specifically want to watch a thing or surf the web. It'll all be watches, bluetooth stuff, and head-up/AR displays soon.
But how does the plastic heal itself? (And why the back, not the front?) Will you take it off and put it in the fridge overnight?
Amy handset bigger than say 4in long is going to be really impractical for folk who actually do stuff other than sit in front of a computer all day.
for example im a farmer, whose workday is and can be most of the time quite the opposite to a desk bound job.So why not take the bendy phone idea to the next level and make it foldable?
then you could protect the fragile bits like the screen and keyboard from harm, it would fit the average pocket better, and it could be flipped open when it rings to answer a call.
We could call it a flip phone!!
It would work like the book that folds shut or opens to read , or the pocket knife that folds shut or boxes with hinged lids or suitcases with hinged covers, its been done elsewhere!!
Damm its already been consigned to the out of date bin.
Well the money is there to buy such a phone but if it aint the money stays in my pocket.
However i found the other day a handset that matches almost all my needs.
its called an Opticon H21 1d.
It is waterproof, will stand a drop onto concrete from1.5mtrs, has a 3060 mah battery to last all week and will scan bar codes on my cattle ear tags.
so why havnt the register or anyone else for that matter, done a review of it? cos it aint a consumer product. Its an industrial business handset.
Arriving on Wednesday.
We've been here for years. Some people hate the idea. The poor bastards don't know where food comes from, and don't want to hear about it. Nor do they realize that Ag-Tech has been driving humanity for about fifty thousand years, +/-.
::shrugs:: Whatever. Try producing food with nothing more than an iFad-Airhead.
See mine from three years ago:
http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/containing/939029
The old Nokia is still fully functional, and my primary mobile telephone. But the Opticon H21 1d looks interesting ... Unfortunately, I don't do Redmond. Is there a Linux or BSD option yet? A quick glance at Metacrawler suggests 'no' ...