At IFA Berlin back in the first part of September, we knew that Samsung would be revealing their new Galaxy Note 4 – we did not know that they would also hit us up with a Note ‘variation’ called the Galaxy Note Edge. There were rumors, patent filings and even pictures, about Samsung developing a three-sided display, but we did not realize that it was so far along in production that they could actually announce it at IFA.
Samsung not only announced it, but their Canadian arm made it official today that Canada would be getting the Galaxy Note Edge sometime in 2015 – most likely sooner than later. Paul Brannen, senior vice president of mobile for Samsung Canada, says they need more time because of adjustments needed to the baseband stack to ensure its compatibility with carrier aggregation – part of the new LTE-Advanced specs. This “allows for two intra- or inter-band carrier channels to be combined into a single downlink signal.” In other words, allows for faster connection fees.
There was no word on carrier availability or pricing yet, but we can assume that Samsung will position this as their premier smartphone and charge more for it than the Galaxy Note. One would expect that with the flexible curved display – the design, manufacturing costs, the special curved Gorilla Glass, and extra software would all warrant an extra cost than the basic Note 4. Hopefully, it will be within reason or Samsung may be shooting themselves in the foot by over estimating what consumers would be willing to pay. While an innovative idea, the feedback from most people is unanswered questions and that it looks strange. In a world where we demand innovation and then are afraid of it when we see it, seems to be a natural reaction.
What was so refreshing was that Samsung did use their Quad HD (QHD) display on the Note Edge and did not drop it down to 1080p. The Galaxy Note Edge has the exact same specs as the Note 4, with the added addition of the side-display. I included a video from Samsung Tomorrow that will really show off what this strange side panel is capable of – it really is not just a pretty face. It offers true functionality to help enhance the user experience, for instance – when you turn on the camera, controls and a shutter button appear along that side display. When you turn the Note Edge sideways to take a picture, the camera controls and button to take a picture are conveniently along the top edge. Another of many functions it offers is called Quick Tools – it turns the ‘edge’ of the device into a ruler, a cool stop watch that will appear on the main display, a flashlight button and a voice recorder. You can customize up to seven additional panels besides the ones that Samsung has in place.
So hook up with use on our Google+ Page and let us know what you think about the new Galaxy Note Edge and make sure that you view the video first…as always, we would love to hear from you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQbNpfdUQNA