Samsung planning three-sided phone next year says report
Insider reports suggest Samsung has plans for a three-sided smart phone next year, using Youm curved-screen technology.
Three is the magic number -- that's according to new insider reports suggesting Samsung has a smart phone with a three-sided screen planned to appear as soon as next year.
Bloomberg reports that two people familiar with the plan have confided the new device will take advantage of an upgraded version of Samsung's Youm screen technology.
A Youm curved screen can be seen on the Samsung Galaxy Round, the concave smart phone currently on sale in South Korea but unlikely to get a wider release.
Each side of the screen will display information independently, according to the report. What form that will take is unclear, but it's more likely to be a regular screen with angled sides than a Toblerone-style triangular design, as much as we'd all like to see that.
The idea of the three-sided Samsung Galaxy phone is that phone fans can read messages from an angle. I have absolutely no idea why.
The new phone is reported to be planned for the second half of next year. The technology may give a new look to the next Galaxy S -- the Galaxy S5 is already rumoured to have a new-look metal case -- or Galaxy Note; or may be the start of a new range. Samsung declined to comment.
Samsung is also said to be looking at enhanced screen sensors that can tell how hard you're pressing on them.
Curved screens are starting to look like the next frontier in smart phone design: LG is flexing its muscles with the LG G Flex, a phone that actually bends when you press on it.
Curved and flexing technology is also increasingly important as wearable technology arrives, such as Google Glass or the Samsung Galaxy Gear and rumoured Apple iWatch smart watches.
Can you see the need for a curved screen? Tell me your thoughts in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.