Why You Can Trust CNET LG G Flex in EE shops on Friday, try before you buy in 2014
This Friday you can try the LG G Flex before you buy... as long as you don't mind waiting until the new year to actually part with your cash.
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Can't wait to get your hands on the curvaceous LG G Flex? Then wait no more because you can see it, touch and flex it for yourself before the end of this very week. Can't wait to buy the LG G Flex? Er... then you'll be waiting a little longer.
EE has revealed it will have the innovative curved LG G Flex in selected EE stores on 20 December -- this Friday! -- for you to play with. But they can't actually sell you one for another two months.
The G Flex goes on sale in February 2014. EE says it will announce prices nearer the time.
It's the first time I can think of that a phone has been put in stores for you to try out, so long before it actually goes on sale. It's certainly an interesting way to gauge interest in what is one of the most novel phones we've seen for a while. Perhaps more shops should try out novel devices like this, rather than shying away from taking a punt. Maybe this is a strategy that could work on other phones that are a little different from the norm, like the YotaPhone or Firefox phones.
Curved and curled
The innovation in the Flex phone is that it's curved to curl around your face as you talk, like a banana held to your ear -- and it even bends slightly when you press on it. By contrast, the other curved phone on its way next year, the Samsung Galaxy Round, doesn't flex but arcs horizontally to sit more comfortably in your palm. It remains to be seen which one fits best in your pocket.
Not everyone's convinced by the curve, however. "The LG G Flex's curved screen differentiates it from the monotony of flat-screened smartphone rivals," says industry expert Ben Wood of CCS Insight, "but it's hard to see how it offers little more than technology for the sake of technology at this stage... its impact will really depend on how much money LG is prepared to invest from a marketing perspective."
For more on the G Flex, hit play on our hands-on video:
And if you want to press the Flex for yourself, get down to one of the following EE stores:
- London Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford E20 1EH
- London Westfield Shopping Centre, White City W12 7GG
- London 155/157 Oxford Street, W1D 2JH
- Kent Bluewater Shopping Centre, DA9 9ST
- Nottingham 16 Clumber Street, NG1 3GA
- Manchester The Trafford Centre, M17 8AP
- Brighton 209-210 Western Road, BN1 2BA
- Cambridge 40-41 Lions Yard, CB2 3NA
- Merry Hill The Merryhill Centre, DY5 1QX
- Sheffield Meadowhall Centre, S9 1EN
Are curved phones the future? Would you like more advance chances to fondle forthcoming phones? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or flex your muscles on our Facebook page.