Last year, we posted about some of the big changes coming to mobile phones in 2019. We poked a bit of fun at the “folding phone” a few companies were designing – didn’t we already go through a flip phone phase? It appears our tomfoolery was in vain, for the epoch of the bendy phone is upon us! With the notable exception of Apple, most of the major handset manufacturers have been hard at work putting out their unique take on this bizarre trend. You can decide for yourself if a folding phone is for you, and whether they’re here to stay, as you read our guide to this year’s upcoming lineup!
Pholdable: Phablet, Evolved
When you hear “foldable phone,” you probably think of an old flip phone. Or maybe you picture something a little more whimsical or ridiculous. Like a device as thin as paper you can turn into origami when you’re not making a call. Those science fiction novelties are a long ways off, and the most realistic folding phone is also the most useful. Instead of a very wide, long, thin handset, you could have a slightly thicker phone that blooms into a seven- or eight-inch tablet. Fully functional either way. The new phablet is coming.
Wearables: the snap bracelets of phones
On September 9th, 2014, Apple announced the first smartwatch, the Apple Watch. It came out the next year, and it didn’t cause much of a stir. An indulgent product, the accessory seemed to be more of a cool callback to James Bond movies than necessary hardware. Since then, Samsung and Apple have dominated the smartwatch market, and a niche has been found – these gadgets are replacing Fitbits and other fitness devices. What was at first a cluster of neat features are now bonus capabilities of your own personal trainer. It’s become clear that wearables are no more a fad than smartphones themselves.
Dual screens: the Nintendo DS phone
Blackberry was the first hybrid, truly blending the utility of a personal assistant and the simplicity of a cellular device. It wasn’t until the iPhone that the mechanical opening, physical keyboard, and PDA UI style began to slowly fall out of favor. Today, Blackberry still makes mobile phones with physical keyboards. They’re shaped differently and have digitizers standard now. Other than stubborn Blackberry fans, there aren’t many people who can honestly say that when it comes to handsets, they prefer to keep their keyboards on a separate part of the device entirely.
Literally bendable phone
So. This is what we meant by “ridiculous or whimsical.” When we picture bendable, foldable, wearable smartphones, we usually picture the origami, or a loop-de-loop. An innovation like a posable, adjustable screen should be used for something…well, useful. The LG Bendi pushes the limits of that word. In addition to the V50 ThinQ, and not dissimilar from Samsung’s three patent strategy, LG is playing the field with their second design. But the Bendi could be more than just a phone. On the surface, a phone you can roll up sounds like a superfluous luxury. Now picture a television you could roll up and slide into a poster tube. A TV or large tablet you can easily unfurl on your desk at work or table at home to manage projects on a surface you can stow. Right now, not much is known about the Bendi project other than its core functionality. We predict that it won’t have much room to compete in the handset space but that LG may take this to home entertainment where they already have a well-known foot in the door.
Flip Phones Revisited
It all comes full circle. Many people think back nostalgically on their durable, simple Razr handset. The epitome of flip phones for that brief period when folding your phone closed was the obvious evolutionary step. The new Razr may try to re-capture that glory by returning to the iconic design.
CV Mobile
You can be sure that whether you’re running a classic iPhone X, a foldable phone, or a tablet, you will be able to use the CV Mobile app to manage your content. The Contentverse ECM solution is available for web access on Macs and on-premise installations for Windows systems, as well as hosting in the cloud. With the ability to look up any document on the go from the comfort of your own phone, Contentverse remains one of the most innovative solutions to content management needs.
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