Samsung launches world's first curved-screen phablet Galaxy Round, comes with Ultra HD recording & quad core processor

After rumours about the same doing the rounds for some time now, Samsung has finally taken the wraps of the world's first curved phablet. Christened Galaxy Round, the device is in many ways similar to the recently launched Galaxy Note 3, except for its curved display and the exclusion of the S-Pen.

To leverage the curved screen, the company has also added a number of features to the device, which include:

Roll effect: Users can check information like date, time, missed calls and battery life by trolling the device, even when the screen is off (watch video for more).

Side Mirror: Users can access album content with a left or right tilt.

Bounce UX: While playing music from the device, a short press to the left of the device will play the previous track and vice versa. Works even when the display is off.

Here is a quick look at the specifications of the devices.

The phablet sports a 5.7 inch Super Flexible AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display (1080×1920 pixel resolution) with 386 ppi pixel density, and runs on the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system. The device is powered by a 2.3 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and has 3GB of RAM. It comes with 32GB of internal memory that can be further expanded an additional 64GB with a microSD card.

Galaxy Round packs a 13 megapixel auto-focus rear camera with LED Flash that can record Ultra HD videos at 30 frames per second (fps) and full HD videos at 60fps. The device also has a 2 MP front facing camera that can also record full HD videos at 30 fps. Users can make use of both the cameras with dual shot, dual recording and dual video calls options. Users can click pictures while recording HD videos, and the camera also offers panorama image capture.

On the connectivity front, the device has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi (with Wi-Fi Direct), 3G and 4G LTE (depending on the region), and it also comes with a microSD card slot and a microUSB port. The dimensions of the device are 151.1mm x 79.6mm x 7.9mm, and its weight is 154gm. The company has provided a 2,800 mAh battery in the device and it will be available in luxury brown colour (with more colours to be introduced later).

As of now, the device is available in the Korean market for around $1,000 (converted from South Korean won). While an Indian launch date or pricing is not available as of now, we feel it should be in the same range as the Galaxy Note 3, which was launched for Rs 49,990 (now available for Rs 46,899). Since it is the first device with a curved screen, we don't see any direct competitor, but on a larger scale, it should compete with the likes of Apple iPhone 5 (starting from Rs 45,199), HTC One (Rs 44,999), Sony Xperia Z Ultra (Rs 44,990), and the to be launched iPhone 5c and 5s, among others.

While we already have devices with curved backs, it is the first time consumers will get to lay their hands on a curved screen device. Whether they will accept the same, or discard it like many other so-called 'innovations', only time will tell.