Newsletter
After the limited release of their first smartphone featuring a curved display, the Galaxy Round, Samsung have announced that they are ready to begin mass production of curved batteries, according to zdnet.co.kr. At the opening of a new building in Seocho (commonly called Samsung Town because it serves as Samsung’s IT and electronics hub), Sang Jin Park, CEO of Samsung SDI, said that Samsung were ready to start production of the new curved or warped batteries, but they had not received a parts order as yet.
Samsung shipped 80 million handsets for the third quarter of 2013, averaging 1 million handsets sold per day, and as such have acknowledged that Samsung will not be able to manufacture enough batteries internally to meet demand, thus having to farm out parts orders to 3rd party manufacturers.
The Galaxy Round features a concave curved screen, but still utilises a ‘flat’ standard Li-Ion battery that is unable to make the most out of the Round’s curve, being limited to a 2,800 mAh capacity whilst in stark contrast, the recent announcement of LG’s first curved phone, the G Flex, features both a curved screen as well as a curved battery making full use of the G Flex’s curvature, which allows the battery to offer a greater capacity: 3500 mAh.
Samsung’s great local rival, LG, have proven to be at least temporarily ahead of Samsung in terms of battery technology; with LG Chem producing a battery featuring its Stepping technology, filling extra space in the new G2 with more battery, providing 16 percent more capacity. The G Flex features Stacking and Folding technology that reduces stress on the battery when bent, and improves overall stability and performance.
Needless to say, Samsung aren’t in the business of settling for being second best. In its efforts to show progress, Samsung have also recently shown off a new battery technology which relies on solid-state fuel rather than liquid, and will not only be fireproof, but flexible and shock resistant as well. This technology isn’t quite ready for prime-time though, and is only expected to be ready for mass-production in 2 years time.
With Samsung and LG taking the lead in developing curved phones and related technologies, it raises some interesting questions: Are the other smartphone manufacturers losing ground? Does it really matter who is first to market? Is the curved phone trend something we want? Or is it two Tech rivals fighting over a novelty segment? Are you ready for your first curved smartphone? And how cool would a 27-inch monitor that folded up into an 8-inch tablet be? Let us know in the comments section, or via our Google Plus page.