The rumour of a clamshell based Samsung Galaxy phone have firmed up even further – although it’s still possible, though not likely that this is a prototype that may not move ahead – with pics of the phone leaked to GSMInsider via an anonymous source.
According to SamMobile the specs of the phone were leaked a couple of days ago when the manual for the device surfaced. The phone will apparently come with dual WVGA (800×480) AMOLED screens, 1.7GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 400 CPU, Dual Cameras, 1,820mAh battery with Android 4.1.2 on-board. The phone will of course carry a variety of wireless connectivity – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, FM Radio and will come with LTE. There is a little bit of uncertainty with regards to how much RAM the phone will launch with, 2GB, 1.5GB or even 1GB, but we’ll find out at launch.
Call me crazy, or just longing for the days of the Sony CLIÉ but Samsung has my attention with this phone. It’s not the highest end specs but it’s not a low end spec either, it’s mostly form factor as well, if it were made of aluminium I’d totally give this a go. As always it depends on how it’s priced at release, so, your move Samsung.
Would you consider a Clamshell phone or are we done with the clamshell form factor?
It looks a lot like the SCH-W2013 which was released only to the Chinese market.
Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX0aD0iey-M
The Japanese have been doing this for years – SHARP in particular comes to mind:
This one from 2011
16MP., 3D, Waterproof…
http://www.gsmarena.com/sharp_treats_us_to_a_16m_waterproof_android_clamshell-news-2671.php
I would suggest that this is Samsungs attempt to crack further into the Japanese market – western carriers are not interested in anything different although personally i would love one.
I don’t think clamshell and touch screen will go all that well together. Also, the reason I used to like the clamshell design was because the screen was on the inside and was well protected. That would only be the case for one screen here. The other would be quite vulnerable while you’re fumbling around trying to open it.
If it opened up to a single, large screen (no hardware buttons) that was flush all the way down (no noticeable seam in the middle), then I would really pay attention.
I think clamshell and touchscreens go perfectly together for the same reasons.
Release date? I am keen for it despite the early reports being quite thin as to overall specs. I have thought the clamshell design was best for a while now; ever since the 3Network ‘flip phone’, followed by Sony’s Razor series. I have my eye on the Note 3 set to be release towards the end of the year so, should i hold off till the clamshell is released, or, will it be quite a while till we see the clamshell in stores?