Samsung Project Valley foldable smartphone to arrive in January

[HEXUS]

Report says it will debut in the UK and be an evolution of Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge+.

Read more.

[3dcandy]

That's freaky!

[Froggywoggy]

So you take something that fits well into a pocket, being about the right length and nice and thin... and make it shorter and thicker?

This seems completely pointless. Want to check your phone quickly? Tough luck, it's folded in half. Want to take a call quickly? Tough luck, you phone is folded in half. Don't want a lump in your trouser or jacket pocket? Tough luck, you've made your phone twice as bulky. Solution? Don't fold the phone in half.

I get the feeling Samsung is doing this for the sake of it. Perhaps the shareholders wanted to see something new.

[azrael-]

Bah! Won't catch on before Apple "reveals" a brand new highly innovative foldable iPhone 9.

[kingpotnoodle]

So you take something that fits well into a pocket, being about the right length and nice and thin... and make it shorter and thicker?

This seems completely pointless. Want to check your phone quickly? Tough luck, it's folded in half. Want to take a call quickly? Tough luck, you phone is folded in half. Don't want a lump in your trouser or jacket pocket? Tough luck, you've made your phone twice as bulky. Solution? Don't fold the phone in half.

I get the feeling Samsung is doing this for the sake of it. Perhaps the shareholders wanted to see something new.

People happily bought clamshell phones when candybar designs were available...

[Jowsey]

People happily bought clamshell phones when candybar designs were available...

I think we can all agree that the main uses of phones has changed considerably since clamshell phones were considered high end.

[ValkyrieTsukiko]

The return of the star trek communicator flip-phones! XD sweet

[Macman]

Or took the idea from Adeles latest hit video. Showing her 'folding' a phone closed. And thus someone having a Eureka moment.

Instead of having our customers close a phone! We will give them a phone that they fold in half!!

Boardroom when Brainstorming =
Customers =

[crossy]

So you take something that fits well into a pocket, being about the right length and nice and thin... and make it shorter and thicker? This seems completely pointless. Want to check your phone quickly? Tough luck, it's folded in half. Want to take a call quickly? Tough luck, you phone is folded in half. Don't want a lump in your trouser or jacket pocket? Tough luck, you've made your phone twice as bulky. Solution? Don't fold the phone in half.

So all those folks that had the old clamshell devices - like the much-liked Motorola Razr - were just "putting up" with them? Pardon me for disagreeing.

The foldable phone is a bit of a gimmick - e.g. how do you stop if flapping around when you've unfolded it to use it? On the other hand, that foldability would allow a much longer device without making it impractical for the jacket pocket or briefcase.

I'll give kudos to Samsung for "daring to be different", although the proof of the pudding will be when/if Apple "invents" the concept for the iPhone7/8/etc...

[Froggywoggy]

People happily bought clamshell phones when candybar designs were available...

Which made sense as the folding section protected the old screens which were more easily scratched and scuffed. It also prevented accidental button pressing. Neither of these are problems with new phones. In four years I have only had one tiny scratch on my Lumia screen and the unlock button is on the side of the phone, meaning it is far harder to accidentally press.
The clamshell design also meant the you could get a longer phone as, when folded, the phone was 'normal length'. This design doesn't make the phone longer, in fact it does the opposite.

[crossy]

Which made sense as the folding section protected the old screens which were more easily scratched and scuffed. It also prevented accidental button pressing. Neither of these are problems with new phones. In four years I have only had one tiny scratch on my Lumia screen and the unlock button is on the side of the phone, meaning it is far harder to accidentally press.

Screen protection is still an issue - that's one reason why all my phones get cases and screen protectors. And some - like the LG ones - have "active" screens where pressure on them CAN actually activate (assuming you've been stupid enough not to put on a lock screen).

The clamshell design also meant the you could get a longer phone as, when folded, the phone was 'normal length'. This design doesn't make the phone longer, in fact it does the opposite.

No, no, no - you've missed the point. From plain ole "common sense" if you can fold something like a Galaxy Note 5 then it's pocket length goes from 6" down to 3" - which makes it pretty compact. The flip (no pun intended) side of this is (obviously) that perhaps a 9-10" high phone may be doable in today's accepted form factors. Which in turns means that a fairly substantial screen is possible. As an aside, I honestly can't see how folding a phone makes it longer - I'm assuming you didn't explain yourself properly there.

Other point that a colleague made also applies - I've seen very few people store their currency notes (dollar, gbp, euro, etc) in an unfolded state. Pretty much everyone folds them into a wallet or purse. And maybe this is an incidental, but remember that Samsung also offers a phone-based payment system - so having something that resembles a conventional wallet might be an easier "sell" for ePayment?

[CK_1985]

So you take something that fits well into a pocket, being about the right length and nice and thin... and make it shorter and thicker?

This seems completely pointless. Want to check your phone quickly? Tough luck, it's folded in half. Want to take a call quickly? Tough luck, you phone is folded in half. Don't want a lump in your trouser or jacket pocket? Tough luck, you've made your phone twice as bulky. Solution? Don't fold the phone in half.

I get the feeling Samsung is doing this for the sake of it. Perhaps the shareholders wanted to see something new.

Not everyone keeps their phone in a pocket. There are a lot of people in the world who keep their phones almost exclusively in a bag, for which this shape is arguably more convenient. I think there's a very good chance this would be hugely popular with those people.

Believe it or not, women can be interested in tech too!

[flearider]

it's more a proof of concept .. folding screen no hinge .. next comes the roll out sheet from a tube ..
then on to your jacket sleeve and so on ..
pushing boundary's

[TheAnimus]

Bah! Won't catch on before Apple "reveals" a brand new highly innovative foldable iPhone 9.

Oh come on, everyone I know who has an iPhone 6 plus has already demonstrated how they can bend theirs, folding is just the next iteration.

[kingpotnoodle]

Which made sense as the folding section protected the old screens which were more easily scratched and scuffed. It also prevented accidental button pressing. Neither of these are problems with new phones. In four years I have only had one tiny scratch on my Lumia screen and the unlock button is on the side of the phone, meaning it is far harder to accidentally press.
The clamshell design also meant the you could get a longer phone as, when folded, the phone was 'normal length'. This design doesn't make the phone longer, in fact it does the opposite.

Not everyone keeps it in a pocket, I imagine a foldover clamshell (like a make-up mirror, a rather time resilient design) works quite well in a handbag where length might be an issue (it pokes out) whereas thickness isn't so much, the screen is more protected as well, which when banging around with other things is an issue. Those of us who don't scratch our phones are the minority...

[Corky34]

So the rumor that LG were mass producing foldable display products did indeed turn out to be smoke and mirrors as sykobee said last month, it did indeed turn out to be Samsung.