The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is an inevitable product.

With each passing year, the smartphone consumer is receiving an increasing number of options to choose from. And that has led manufacturers to create a number of USPs for their handsets, some rather useful, a few pretty much unheard of, and some simply bizarre. And since the first thing to saturate the smartphone market was the bar form factor, somebody had to change that. Samsung is that somebody, with its Galaxy Note Edge.

While the idea of having two independent screens is not a new one (remember the flip-open phones of the seemingly-ancient times), the concept of having a side-screen to complement the primary screen can be very productive. And different.

So has the Galaxy Note Edge managed to become one of the greatest (and different) devices of its generation?  

Bragging rights Some of us may hate to admit it, but every now and then a smartphone comes along with bragging rights. We at Technophile are aware of that phenomenon because, often we do carry devices that stand out rather obviously.

The Note Edge falls into that conspicuous, “look-at-me-I’m-different” category.

Being an offshoot of the Galaxy Note 4, the phone is quite big as it is, but it’s the curved display on the edge that draws all the attention. The screen drops down to the edge in a very gentle curve, and with the metal trim all around, the Note Edge scores big points in the design category. The Corning Gorilla Glass overlay on the screen(s) looks amazing, and we have to admit we found ourselves fiddling with the side screen even when we didn’t need to. The glow that comes with a brilliant Quad HD AMOLED screen also adds to the experience, and well, the curve adds to the desirability of this smartphone.

Curved screen aside, the Note Edge is essentially a Note 4. It’s got pretty much the same hardware, including the S-Pen, and the build quality too is the same.

A few friends did ask us, looking at the phone, “Isn’t it too wide to work with?” In a word, no. If anyone has worked on a phablet before, adapting to the Note Edge doesn’t take more than a few hours. The side screen gestures are also coded in such a way that accidental touches by pudgy palms don’t trigger any unwanted actions. However, left-handed users may be at a disadvantage because Samsung produces the Note Edge in only the right-handed configuration.  

Still productive The innards that power the phone are also the same as that of the Note 4 – a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad-core 2.7GHz processor, coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage (with a microSD slot for expansion). On Quadrant Benchmark tests, it scored the same 24,000 points on average, announcing its top-of-the-line performance numbers.  

The camera performance, multi-tasking, multi-window features, S-Pen features and everything that made us believe that the Note 4 is the most productive phone ever, are all present here. (Read our review of the Galaxy Note 4 on our website).

The Edge But let’s look at the primary reason why the phone is different – the edge screen.

At its surprise unveiling in IFA last year, we thought that the Note Edge’s side screen may just be a rather glorified notification bar, and priced at a premium.

However, the bleeding edge of the phone is a bit more productive than we imagined it to be. The edge screen is customisable, and at any given point you can have an option of 7 different ‘edges’ to choose from, including a default shortcuts menu (which in turn can be customised). When not in use, it automatically shrinks into a slender bar that displays a customised message.

Expand the options and you access the ‘edges’ that include the S-Health application (we chose to keep the pedometer information), Yahoo News, Sports, Finance, Twitter, data usage menu, notifications and weather menu, and a few downloadable ‘edges’ which include a CNN news menu, S Note widget, a bookmarks panel, and a few more. We expect this ecosystem to expand further. There is also a pull-down menu within the side screen that includes important tools like timers, stopwatches, flashlight, voice recorder and even an inch/centimetre ruler.

You can wake up the side screen at any time through a light horizontal swipe over the bleeding edge, while the main screen is awake. It’s a nifty way to cycle through your favourite applications. If you want to access only the tools in the side screen, you can wake it up with a simple gesture of swiping right and then left along the spine.

Although the Note Edge comes with a healthy 3,000mAh battery that provides enough juice for over a full working day, using the side screen is a great way to save charge. You can also have the edge keep showing your Twitter feed, a great feature if you’re very socially involved at all times.

The side screen is also a great tool while using the camera – the tools appear on the edge, freeing the entire view-finder area of any icons. It also comes handy during video playback. 

Verdict  The Galaxy Note Edge, despite all this, is unfinished technology. Like the smartwatches and other wearables, the side screen is nothing more than an accessory. The question is, whether this technology can be anything more than that. It remains to be seen with the updates Samsung brings to the Note Edge – more features, and including edge functions for all the important and popular apps, and maybe a few interesting mods for gaming too.  

The most important question, that remains, is if you should really buy the Note Edge. We say you should, if you need a smartphone for unsurpassed levels of multitasking and if you’re ready to be a part of the first generation of adopters of an experimental technology.  

However, the premium for the extra bit of screen does make the Note Edge a rather pricey device, and we’d say if you’re not really in dire need of the side screen, you should stick to the Note 4.

 

₹64,900  

Love – Side screen functions; amazing display; multitasking

Hate – Side screen ecosystem needs to evolve 

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