Samsung Galaxy Note Edge unveiled: But lefties won't be too happy with its key feature

By now everyone knows that Samsung has announced a new product, the Galaxy Note Edge. Now in terms of specifications and design this isn’t drastically different from the Galaxy Note 4. Like the Note 4, the Note Edge has a Quad-HD screen (with 160 pixels more), a 2.7 GHz quad-core processor, 3GB RAM, 32 GB storage space, a microSD slot with 64 GB support, 16 megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilisation and a 3.7 megapixel front camera.   So what’s the difference from the Note 4? The biggest one is that the screen is curved – the right edge of phone the screen folds to wrap around the side of the device. Basically on this curved edge of the smartphone, users get quick access to frequently used apps, alerts and device functionality – even when the cover is closed or the screen is locked. It’s kind of a like a ridge on the smartphone’s screen.   The feature on the Samsung Note Edge while it is gimmicky and does give the Note series a little bit of freshness in terms of design, hasn’t exactly been designed keeping in mind left-handed users.   As this tweet below shows, for southpaws the Note Edge isn’t the best device.

  And he isn’t the only one who’s criticising Samsung for this. As this piece on The Verge notes, “If you’re a lefty, using the Note Edge in one hand is going to be terrible — but then again using a Note in one hand is already terrible.”   Another blogpost on Slate points out, “lefties are likely to have a hard time even reaching the Edge Panel.” As the post notes, even “holding the phone with one’s right hand while touching the buttons with the left will obscure a significant portion of the panel,” meaning that you won’t really be enjoying the 5.6-inch screen, especially if you have tiny palms and are left-handed as well.   Mashable has pointed out how left-handed users can best use the phone. The post notes, “Just flip the phone upside-down, and the entire display will rotate 180 degrees. Of course, the home button will be on top, but you can’t have everything.”   As some of the initial posts have noted, Samsung hasn’t really thought this through in terms of design. The piece on The Verge adds it’s not quite sure what the function of that little bit of edged screen is and that “Samsung doesn’t seem entirely sure.”   With the Note Edge, you can see that Samsung is trying to make its Note phablet series seem fresh and relevant, especially now that Apple is getting ready to launch the iPhone 6 which will have a 5.5-inch screen version. But the curved edge won’t add much in terms of wooing users.   At best, it appears to be another Samsung gimmicky feature, one that certain won’t help the device stand out against other phablets if the Note Edge also has the same high-level pricing as the Note 4.