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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday December 05 2017, @04:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the phone-to-flip-over dept.

Samsung has announced its W2018 dual-screen flip phone, with a wide aperture camera lens, Snapdragon 835, and 6 GB of RAM. It will likely only be released in Asian markets:

Samsung unveiled a new expensive flip phone, the Samsung W2018, during a launch event in China today, as first reported by GizmoChina. Many of the W2018's specs are on par with the S8 and Note 8, with one exception: the camera lens.

[...] With an aperture of f/1.5, Samsung claims that the W2018's 12-megapixel rear camera can capture sharp images in less light than the cameras on rival phones can. It also has a 5-megapixel front camera. Through software, the camera can sense when there's enough light to switch to f/2.4 and capture more of the background in photos. The phone will launch with Android Nougat, instead of Oreo.

[...] As an attempt to sweeten the deal for luxury lovers, Samsung says that W2018 buyers also get perks like concierge help at airports and subways, free software tech support, and a hotline just for VIPs. The phone will get released in China first and the price is yet to be announced, but we can guess it might be even higher than the W2017's price tag of $3,000. That's a lot to pay for tech support and taking clear photos at night.

In the West, you can expect a foldable instead of a flippable phone.

Also at Engadget and Android Headlines.

Related: People Opting for a Dumbphone Over a Smartphone


Original Submission

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People Opting for a Dumbphone Over a Smartphone 86 comments

moylan writes:

An article from the Chicago Tribune discusses people who are changing their smartphone for a dumbphone. From the article:

When Ryan Gleeson punches out a text message or takes a call on his cellphone at parties, he prepares to hear questions from onlookers, and sometimes snickers. That's because the 24-year-old carries a $50 flip phone - the Samsung Gusto 2. There's no touch screen or apps. No Web browsing capabilities. No collection of music to enjoy through earbuds.

"Definitely it's like a black sheep in the room when I pull it out," said Gleeson, a postproduction associate at a documentary production house in Lincoln Park. "I work with a lot of Apple people - creative types. Everyone has an iPhone." Gleeson is among cellphone users who choose to be dialled out of the world of iPhones, BlackBerrys and Androids. In an increasingly connected and accessible culture, these stalwarts have chosen hand-held devices that offer only the basics, despite the social isolation and limitations that may come with them.

For Gleeson, hanging up the iPhone demonstrates no "grand realization about humanity," he said; rather, it's a way to tamp down his compulsive email checking. With the basic phone, "It's a lot easier now to just step away and say, 'I'm not going to work right now,'" he said.

[...a survey] found that 35 percent of U.S. adults carry a cellphone that is not a smartphone.

As someone who got rid of an iphone and android device and replaced them with 2 feature phones I thought I was in the minority. But I have noticed more and more folk around carrying a second dumbphone for when the battery goes on their smartphone. Anyone else doing this?"

[Editor: Yes, me!]

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday December 05 2017, @04:33PM (3 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday December 05 2017, @04:33PM (#605693) Journal

    An Italian man immigrates to America. He starts sweeping floors in a pizzeria, and after 15 years works his way up to owning a small chain of pizzerias.

    He decides to have his own house designed and built for him. And it is going to have everything!

    One day he is talking to the contractor and said, "Makea you sure you puta plenty da halo statues inna da house. I wanna hava lotsa da halo statues. One inna every room, even da bathroom."The contractor, realizing his client must be a very religious person, carefully plans a niche in every room, and personally searches for the perfect statue for each niche.

    Finally, the house is finished. The Italian man walks through his new home for the first time. The contractor points out all the features, and finally the Italian man said, "But wherea are alluh my halo statues? I wanna lotsa halo statues!"

    And the contractor points to the niches and said, "I put a statue in every room, like you asked."

    The Italian replies, "No, no, no! I donna no wanna nonea da Saintas. I wanna da Halo Statues! You knowa da Halo Statues? Deya ring anda you picka dem up, anna you say, halo' stat you?"

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 05 2017, @04:44PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 05 2017, @04:44PM (#605697)

      You’ve been waiting to long to tell that joke.

      You have spoken it to soon Major Runaway.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday December 05 2017, @04:51PM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday December 05 2017, @04:51PM (#605701) Journal

        Waited to long? If I wait any longer, the kids won't even UNDERSTAND IT, let alone appreciate it.

        I can almost remember when "luxury" was more than two phones in the same neighborhood. Of course, most of them were "party lines".

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 06 2017, @01:18AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 06 2017, @01:18AM (#605938)

          That's a terrible joke.

          Here's my terrible joke:

          How do you get an italian to stop talking?

          tie his hands/spoiler
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by bob_super on Tuesday December 05 2017, @05:27PM (1 child)

    by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday December 05 2017, @05:27PM (#605716)

    A 4.2-inch HD screen! Something that fits in my pockets and doesn't sacrifice battery life for pixels you can't see!
    Can they make the same one, without gimmicks, for a tenth of the price? Just one screen will do, I can open it to use it. Ugly shatter-proof plastic front and back works too. I take no pride in waving around an expensive fragile phone.

    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday December 05 2017, @08:04PM

      by MostCynical (2589) on Tuesday December 05 2017, @08:04PM (#605789) Journal

      I'm sorry, people with money apparently want "style" over function.
      Also, bragging rights for how fast the battery goes flat, "because it is soooo powerful"

      --
      "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
  • (Score: 2) by Sourcery42 on Tuesday December 05 2017, @05:48PM (7 children)

    by Sourcery42 (6400) on Tuesday December 05 2017, @05:48PM (#605723)

    A top of the line snapdragon 835 SoC in that device seems like an odd choice, especially when its only pushing pixels to a FHD screen. Then couple the high end processor with a battery that's only 2300 mAH. Maybe it needs that much power to keep up with both displays, but are there even use cases for utilizing both displays? It's going to burn through that battery (Samsung joke not intended). Seems like a less powerful but more efficient SD660 or even an SD450 could have been better matched to the rest of the hardware. It would be nice if that clamshell was hinged the other way and opened up to a qwerty keyboard too. Kind of looks like its intended to scratch a nostalgia and spec itch more than being practical.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 05 2017, @05:51PM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday December 05 2017, @05:51PM (#605725) Journal

      At least Snapdragon 835 has a 2-cluster design.

      https://www.anandtech.com/show/11201/qualcomm-snapdragon-835-performance-preview [anandtech.com]

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday December 05 2017, @06:36PM (5 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday December 05 2017, @06:36PM (#605744)

      My dad has a Samsung clamshell phone with an old-style keypad. It is very practical, and the battery lasts for a while (only one screen). Typing endlessly on giant touchscreens isn't everybody's use case, yet you may want you phone to still feel fast using ever-growing apps.

      • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday December 06 2017, @02:22AM (4 children)

        by Reziac (2489) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @02:22AM (#605949) Homepage

        [laughing] So do I. It cost me $12 (no shit) to buy outright four years ago. The battery is starting to get tired, but otherwise? does the job of a *gasp* phone, which is all that's required.

        --
        And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
        • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Wednesday December 06 2017, @05:44PM (3 children)

          by urza9814 (3954) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @05:44PM (#606228) Journal

          does the job of a *gasp* phone, which is all that's required.

          The *last* thing I want in my device is a phone. I've actually looked into getting a data-only plan with no phone line...I don't want to *talk* to people, I want to text, email, and browse the web! :)

          • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday December 06 2017, @05:51PM (2 children)

            by Reziac (2489) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @05:51PM (#606232) Homepage

            Hence the rise of mini-tablets.... few years back some tech site pointed out that something like 61% of such use now happens on a phone, not on a desktop PC. Increasingly, average non-geeks have only a phone, and no PC at all.

            But it's not what all of us want. I just want the phone to be a phone. I want to do everything else on my desktop PC, with a big screen and a real keyboard. And I think the day is coming when the desktop PC is once again as rare and specialized as it was when an XT cost $4000.

            --
            And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
            • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Wednesday December 06 2017, @06:25PM (1 child)

              by urza9814 (3954) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @06:25PM (#606257) Journal

              Oh I certainly don't want to replace my PC with a "phone", I definitely want to use the PC when it's available. I just don't want to *ever* use a telephone. Voice is a terrible way to communicate, and real-time-only voice is possibly even worse. Give me asynchronous text and multimedia (with multimedia as and only if necessary) over that any day -- then I can refer back to it, look things up, take my time to properly prepare a response, and I can handle it on my own schedule instead of having to drop everything at whatever instant is convenient for the other person. And I can engage in multiple conversations at once. Hell, even if I call a corporate number I'd much rather punch numbers into an automated system than talk to some call center worker -- as long as the automated system is able to resolve whatever issue I called about, which they usually are.

              • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday December 06 2017, @07:25PM

                by Reziac (2489) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @07:25PM (#606310) Homepage

                I'd say rather that voice is a good way to quickly communicate, but sucks when it comes to documenting what was said, at least without an added layer of complexity, while the ability to document is built into text forms (email etc). However, the ability to alter that document is another problem, approximately proportionate to the ease of recording it in the first place.

                I prefer email myself, but when you need a response right this instant and don't care about fiddly accuracy or keeping a record, it's hard to beat voice.

                --
                And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday December 06 2017, @12:07AM (4 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday December 06 2017, @12:07AM (#605905) Homepage
    I forgot what the Nokia Lumia model was that really started to get serious about higher-spec imaging, but at least LG have recently started to set the standard for others to follow (f1.6, twin main cameras, for example). Here's a completely unfair Red vs LG comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAth8g05tfs . The guy also does a completely unfair iPhone7+ vs. Red comparison, and again - spoilers - those two phones do respectably well. It would be good if Samsung delivered one of these phones to him too for another completely unfair comparison.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by tekk on Wednesday December 06 2017, @06:17AM (3 children)

      by tekk (5704) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 06 2017, @06:17AM (#606007)

      Nokia had been pretty serious about higher spec imaging for a while. The N900 released in 2009 had a 5 megapixel camera with optical zoom (the iPhone 3GS, released the same year, was a 3MP camera)

      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday December 06 2017, @12:36PM (2 children)

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday December 06 2017, @12:36PM (#606109) Homepage
        Many thanks for saying so, even if your flattery is unfounded. I worked on the n900 as a kernel dev. I still use my n900 as my primary device (and have several spares, so I can remain an n900 user for another decade).

        It may have been good specs on paper, but the quality in anything but perfect lighting conditions was atrocious. The actual camera component was continually being updated by the manufacturer, and every single version had bugs, it was simply a game of settling for the least broken version. The imaging layer (which I presume came from TI) was also complete bollocks (just like everything else that came from TI). Some 3rd party camera apps did manage to squeeze a bit more from the hardware, but due to the closed interfaces they were using were often very flakey.

        The n950 and n9 were far better.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
        • (Score: 2) by tekk on Thursday December 07 2017, @06:00AM (1 child)

          by tekk (5704) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 07 2017, @06:00AM (#606668)

          I only ever used mine in practically perfect, outdoor lighting and I got a *lot* of great pictures out of it. I still have it actually, and I'd probably be using the N900 to this day if AT&T hadn't shut down its 2G network, which meant that it was useless as a cell phone for me.

          Since you're still using one, you don't happen to know if the system firmware is mirrored anywhere, do you? I've tried getting the phone working again but I'm pretty sure I need to do a full factory reset stuck in a boot loop where it gets to the unlit Nokia splash, freezes, then restarts a few minutes later.

          • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday December 07 2017, @07:25AM

            by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday December 07 2017, @07:25AM (#606692) Homepage
            I am beginning to suffer h/w issues, so will need to provision a new one some time soon, which will involve a reflash (phones picked up from random sources I don't trust), but I haven't done that for about 5 years. I appear to have a bin archived locally (and the flasher) which I presume is the one I last flashed with, I can make that available for you if you'd like, but there is still an active community, and you'll get the most up-to-date info on such things at:
              https://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?s=86eeb04e86b814d479c9c5092d60153d&f=40
            --
            Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
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