
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Is Completely Amazing and Utterly Boring - recoiledsnake
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/?p=133710&u=0
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martythemaniak
It is, just like every other phone will be this year and next. Let's face it,
the form factor is basically tapped out - there's only so many ways you can
deliver a glass slab and right now Samsung will sell you a glass slab from 3"
to 10", with every inch in between covered. The glass slabs get predictable
hardware improvements (they all have the same innards too), so software
touches are the only exciting thing left. In Samsung's case, you have to wait
to Google IO for that.

Personally, I think foldable dual-screen phones will be the next revolution in
the glass slab form factor, but it doesn't seem like they'll be shipping this
year or next. I have both a 7" tablet and a 4.x" phone and I think it's pretty
silly that they're separate devices. Imagine the GS4, with a single screen
wrapped around the phone (like a book cover), with the ability fold it out
into a near-tablet. _That_ would be completely amazing and utterly exciting.

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thedrbrian
How would you do a foldable book style screen though? Even if you can make a
screen that folds and bends how does the phone know how much you've tucked
behind the phone. It's going to be awfully floppy unless you use some material
that can stiffen on command. Another problem would be the thickness of the
screen. If it is uniformly thick then the phone will half in thickness going
from phone to tablet and if the guts of the phone are hidden underneath one
half of the screen then when you lay it flat the gubbins of the phone will
stop the phone/tablet from sitting flush with whatever you put it on. And the
weight won't be balanced. Seems like a ton of problems just to stop one from
carrying a 300gram tablet.

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Raphael
Samsung needs to address the look of the software. They put all this work into
making Android ugly for no reason other than differentiation.

