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WHILE SAMSUNG IS committed to lowering the number of devices it will release this year, it’s still as busy as ever.
After announcing three new devices as part of its A range (the A3, A5 and A7) in quick succession and to maintain competitiveness, it’s easy to forget that it also released two new phones before the Christmas period.
While the Note 4 was released here two months ago, the Galaxy Edge made its way here last month, but even with Christmas out of the way, it’s still worth a look.
Look and feel
Since the screen curves off on the right-hand side, the lack of symmetry means holding it takes a little bit of getting used to.
When you’re picking it up from a flat surface, the curved screen makes it a little difficult to get a proper grip at first, resulting in a few slips here and there initially. You get better over time, but for those initial first few days, it’s something you need to keep track of.
Apart from that, the design is virtually similar to the Note 4. Aluminium frame, removable leather backing and a Gorilla Glass screen. This isn’t a bad thing as both devices are quite easy on the eye and the curved screen does add a bit of intrigue to it.
Hardware and software
Comparing it to the Galaxy Note 4, the Edge is practically similar in software but has a small downgrade in hardware. The S Pen is there for productivity, the camera has virtually the same specs and feature, and while the layout of the home screen is a little different, the same features are still there. The only major difference is the Edge itself (which we’ll get to later).
Regarding hardware, the Note Edge isn’t as powerful as the Note 4 – it has only one quad-core CPU processor compared to the Note 4′s three – although the screen quality is just that little bit better. That said, games like Goat Simulator run fine and there’s was no evidence of slowdown when dealing with the more demanding parts.
Although there’s an unexpected weak point: the battery. Compared to the Note 4, it just isn’t as good as you would expect, lasting roughly a day and a bit through average use. It has a slightly smaller battery and is effectively powering two screens, but you will be charging every evening with just a bit of power to spare.
Living with the edge
Considering just how apparent it is when you start it up, this will be the feature that will help you decide whether to go for a Note or an Edge.
In its most basic form, the edge is really a quick way to access the most popular apps on your phone. It’s pretty easy to customise and swiping across to bring up different strips (for want of a better term) containing notifications, updates and alerts is a nice touch.
There’s also a ruler feature should you find yourself in a dilemma that can only be solved by measuring a 10cm or less objects, and a night mode, allowing you to use the edge as a bedside clock without having to activate it.
The only thing to note, however, is the strip usually takes up a small bit of your screen when accessing an app. For the most part, that’s not a big deal, but when you’re typing something for example, it does make it a little difficult to hit the buttons located on the edge without hitting a shortcut or notification, which is a minor niggle.
Also, notifications come in through the side, meaning you will have to turn the phone sideways to read it properly.
Having the features the edge brings is nice, but it’s not essential by any means, it’s just a less intrusive way of accessing certain information. When it’s not in use, it just displays a custom message, but you can download extra strips to use later should you need more notifications or info to cycle through and as a starting point, there’s enough there to get you started.
If you’re left-handed, things aren’t as awkward as you think as you can flip the screen 180-degrees. Although it’s easy to forget this setting when you’re answering your phone and realising the speaker and microphone are the wrong way around.
The other factor is the camera, the shutter button and all associated settings are located on the edge which isn’t the best position, either at the top or bottom.
The tradeoff is there’s almost nothing obstructing your view but it means that taking one-handed photos is going to be a bit awkward, but then again, the size of the phone means you’ll be using both hands anyway.
Summary
Just like the Note 4, the Galaxy Edge is well-built and solid to hold, but the main selling point doesn’t add up to more than a nice feature. In the greater scheme of things, there’s not enough there to make it a genuine selling point and it’s not something you would miss terribly if you had to revert back to a more traditional phone.
If you’re the kind of person who absolutely needs to access the same few apps at a moment’s notice, it’s going to be handy, but on balance, you’re probably better off going for the Note 4.
If Samsung decide to make this a regular feature for its more prominent phones, like it did with the Galaxy Alpha, then it will be received warmly. You can see that thought has gone into this, but it needs to think about how it ties into the overall experience for normal users as concepts will only bring it so far.
Pros
- Great screen and build.
- Sloped side-screen works well for both right- and left-handed people.
- Most of the Note 4′s features are transferred here without problems.
Cons
- Battery life is a little disappointing.
- Curved screen makes it slightly awkward to grip.
- Specs aren’t as good at the Note 4′s.
The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is available in Vodafone (€149 – €349 Bill Pay & €829 PAYG)
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Best of luck Shannon. Congrats that you are now free from the grip of the DAA that was destroying you. Nice Airport to fly in and out of.
Great news for Shannon airport and from the surrounding areas. The airport is a pleasure to fly in and out from as a regular flyer so nice to get some good news in regards to its development.
Great news for Shannon.. Feck all the begrudgers..
Now that the DAA has creamed the best of Shannon traffic….
Ryanair will slime back big time, o leary doesn’t want to deal with the DAA, he needs Shannon if he goes ahead with transatlantic flights. Shannon will take off(excuse the pun) big time, also a lot of other airlines will fly in to Shannon, especially US airlines.
I wouldn’t blame ryanair for not wanting to deal with the DAA. There money grabbers with terrible track records when it comes to running a airport. I wouldn’t be surprised if shannon is a huge success and puts Dublin airport to shame.
Great news
I’m confused, how can something that’s loss making, decrease in passengers of 60% create 850 new jobs. this plan does have the hallmarks of the Irish government all over it.
Maybe the moderator will explain why he/she removes truthful comments from this and other pages, comments such as..
Some Dublin and Cork politicians as well as civil servants colluded with each other so as to destroy Shannon Airport, anyone who denies that there was a conspiracy against Shannon and the Mid-West is living in cloud cuckoo land or the land of self denial.
The fact is that the DAA took €1 billion of what was rightfully Shannon’s money, they took this money by getting a gift of Aer Rianta International from Seamus Brennan.
The only interest the DAA had in Shannon was to collude with Dublin and Cork Civil servants and politicians to destroy Shannon for their own greedy, parochial, narrow minded gain. It was the old “Cork and Dublin” old boys club. A club which was (and is) horrified at the though of a major, successful International Airport only 10 minutes drive from Limerick City.
Great news for Shannon Airport, and hopefully ye will get back the business that DAA WRONGFULLY took from ye…….Great Xmas present for all in that area, and the jobs will come imho..
wonder will aer lingus work with them, as most of the time we from kerry have limited flights or no flights for months to new york,,, but thanks to delta for picking up the slack and cheaper prices,, cant believe they are giving them free reign as they have been trying to shut them down for years, sad as its the nicest airport to show ireland at its finest,, driving in and seeing castles, rivers,, lush green fields,, i really hope this is for the good and our government not trying the sneaky,,, i for one love shannon airport, and pray they get it back off the ground and go for it,,
Brilliant news for Shannon , love using Shannon airport , it’s such a shame so few flights leave the airport these days but this is about to change . Would always be my Airport of choice , it’s quick to get through , staff are brilliant , well done Shannon airport
Mega news for the Airport as the region had been neglected for some time now . Good luck for the future to all concerned.
Great news for Shannon for a change. Merging with DAA in the first place was a bad and calculated move by Bertie & Co. A lot of flights have been taken by DAA for Dublin’s benefit but can eventually be wooed back to some degree if done properly.
Let’s hope it bring some much needed prosperity for the region once more.
Shannon should now sue the DAA for the return of the €1 billion that the DAA took when Aer Rianta International was gifted to them by seamus brennan, plus the €160 millions that ARI make every year.
The DAA tried to destroy the Shannon Region, it’s time to make them pay.
Great news. Now we need the routes. Had to leave Limerick at 1am yesterday morning for the 1st flight out of Dub to Brussels. It would be great to crawl out of bed and take the handy spin out to Shannon.
Likely to be a very chilly day in hell when this delivers 850 jobs.
This will deliver 10,000 jobs within ten years……………….We have got the very thing that Dublin and Cork were (are) afraid of, a totally Independent Airport, a strong aerport = a strong region…..we will have both.
Yes Gerard,
I also see you got loads of thumbs down from the serendipity brigade.
@ AJ
You’re a dreamer. You’re loyalty to the region is admirable but reality will be dissapointing and as for
‘he needs Shannon if he goes ahead with transatlantic flights’
Shannon hasn’t been needed for transatlantic flights since the 80′s
@josh….Shannon was and is the place most US airlines want to fly to. Aer lyingus (sic) and the DAA put a stop to most transatlantic flights coming in to Shannon. Most US tourists want to fly directly to the West, Aer lyingus stopped them. Dublin is just another City to them.
Shannon will boom, to the disgust and dismay of Dublin, Cork and Mayo……another reason for these people to bitch about the Limerick/Shannon Region. Raising a mug of tea to this momentous decision.
AJ, the same begrudges didn’t want Limerick to have a university.
This is great news for the Midwest.
great news was at Shannon airport over Halloween it’s a ghost airport with at most 1 flight an hour. it’s a very handy airport for us in the west, if only it flew to more destinations, since Ryanair pulled most of its flights out the place it has become very quite.
Can’t wait for more flights – biggest problem with Shannon is no flights going out of there (for me anyway). So tired of the Dublin/Cork drive or the Heathrow connection to get anywhere other than the UK.
Happy Days and I hope it delivers the jobs to the region
Why was my comment taken down. It was not offensive to anybody.
Where is the freedom of speech on the journal these days.
Great news for Shannon Airport – Clare Galway and Limerick. Lets get Michael O Leary back ASAP. Ryanair should make Shannon its Headquarters. Lets get new flights ASAP.The people of the Mid West must support Shannon in preference to other airports in Ireland. A big thanks to Minister Michael Noonan – great work for Limerick and Clare
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