Samsung Youm

Samsung Youm is a Flexible AMOLED Smartphone, Now Rendered

The Samsung Youm concept was a big deal about a year ago, when a prototype of a device with a flexible AMOLED screen was shown at various tech shows throughout the world. Time has passed and Samsung hasn’t arrived closer to a commercial version, with the closest thing being the slightly disappointing Galaxy Round.

Thanks to Ian Nott, the Samsung Youm smartphone turns from prototype to render, a pretty beautiful one, I have to say. As you can see, this Samsung concept phone has one normal straight edge and one that goes around the bezel and keeps going. It also flexes in that area apparently, which is what makes the device stand out.

This phone has an edge to edge screen, as some of the images show, but I’m not sure what Samsung understands by “flexible”. Either they mean a screen that is bent and integrated like that on a device, or a really flexible smartphone, that can bend when being used, like the LG G Flex. The Youm looks like more of a device with an already bent screen, since it doesn’t seem to flex…

HTC M8

HTC M8 Take 1: Ancel Lim Version

We’re probably a month or at most two away from the big unveiling of HTC’s new flagship phone, also known as HTC M8. I’m pretty sure the codename won’t stick, since the HTC One was the M7 before it. Today we catch a glimpse of the newcomer as imagined by Ancel Lim.

He gathered all the info he had from various leaks and created this render you see here. The second generation HTC one comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 new generation processor, a quad core 2.2 GHz Krait 400 CPU, as well as a Full HD 5 inch screen with Gorilla Glass 2 protection. We’ve also got a microSD card slot inside, 4G LTE connectivity and NFC.

There will be a dual SIM version of HTC M8, without 4G and Snapdragon 800, but rather with a quad core 1.7 GHz Krait 300 CPU. Keep in mind that Beats Audio is gone here, but we do have BoomSound speakers at the front. The novelty here compared to the predecessor is that the handset is thinner, flatter, more rectangular and it has smaller bezels.

Android KitKat Quick Settings Concept

Android KitKat Quick Settings Concept Looks Interesting

The entire Google Android OS is headed towards a card-based interface, apparently and following the trend is designer Marte Ledesma. The creator of the Photoshop render below pictured a Quick Settings area.

This one makes the UI look more Google card-like and the shortcuts are now split over the whole screen area, not entirely focused at the top or divided into squares. The Google+ profile gets the most important room here and the Settings shortcut is now big and clear, not tiny and annoying like on the LG G2.

Nice to see the various WiFi connections listed with an easily accessible approach, but it’s a bit eerie to see the battery indicator on the side of the screen opposed to the one it shows regularly. My only question is where the notifications would go in this setup…