The Galaxy Note Edge: Samsung's first smartphone with a bent display

It's been over a year and a half since Samsung briefly (and from a distance) showed off the Youm, a prototype of a smartphone with a curved display that wrapped around the right-hand side. While it seemed like a far-off reality at the time, Samsung announced today that the Youm's spiritual successor -- aptly named the Galaxy Note Edge -- would be coming out this fall. Sure, mass-producing a phone with a bent screen is a tremendous display of manufacturing prowess, not to mention something to show off at parties, but is there more to this unique handset than eye candy?

The Galaxy Note Edge is, in almost every respect, a Note 4. Almost all of the hardware and software.. The primary difference, obviously, is the 5.6-inch Quad HD+ bent display (the "plus" in Quad HD+ refers to the 160 rows of extra pixels used on the side display), and any variance in hardware here is to account for the phone's unique design: It's 3.8mm wider and 2.2mm shorter than the Note 4, and comes with a smaller 3,000mAh battery. If your hands already experience fatigue with the Note 3 or similarly large phones, the Edge likely isn't a good choice for you -- not only because it's so much wider (though that's a significant factor), but also because the right side of the phone, where the screen meets the back, is actually quite sharp and an uncomfortable place to grip the phone. (Insert obvious "cutting edge" or "bleeding edge" joke here.)

There's a special kind of beauty to the Note Edge that comes as a result of its brand-new form factor. Aside from a very brief encounter with the Youm prototype phone at CES 2013, we've never actually seen a device with a bent display. Despite the fact that it's not as comfortable as the Note 4, Samsung did a great job of blending its counterpart's design language with the form factor. It's a very sleek-looking device, and hard to stop staring at it. The phone maker will definitely be charging a premium for the Edge, but it will at least come with some serious bragging rights and a whole lot of people suddenly paying attention to you (or your phone, at least). But wait a minute, is Samsung going the Nokia way? Everywhere you look in Nairobi today is Samsung Note 3, my wife equates this to the like of Toyota in Kenya. I cannot see myself with this particular phone until I am sure that the display is strong enough not break in my pocket…