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I’ve seen it talked about a few times in our comments section and while the general feeling surrounding bezels is that the smaller the better, we still haven’t seen a smartphone — or tablet for that matter — with a near “bezeless” display.
Well, it looks like that could soon be changing with Samsung rumored to be ushering-in the era of non-existent bezels with their rumored Galaxy B smartphone. Samsung has long been one of the Android OEM’s to feature a great screen-to-bezel ratio and it seems they may have finally figured out how to go all-screen.
A smartphone with no bezel was never a reality until Android 4.0 stepped onto the scene and did away with physical buttons altogether. Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve always liked having a little bottom area with actual physical, physical buttons (not that capacitive junk) where I could rest my fingers without having to worry I’m dialing an ex-girlfriend or deleting emails. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve exited out of a game because I accidentally hit that home button during intense gaming sessions.
We could see something at Mobile World Congress in just a few short days so we’ll have to wait and see if Samsung can deliver. What do you guys think about a bezel-less phone? Pretty to look at but not really user friendly? Or is this the stuff green-dreams are made of?
[MKNews (Korean) |Via SammyHub]
Give me a Galaxy Note with no borders. That would be my dream phone.
Take off the Note’s bezels so you keep the 5.3″ screen and make the form factor a bit easier to handle.
it is pretty easy to handle, but yes it would be every more badass with a ridiculously small bezel.
For me, that’s close to my dream phone too. I’d like a bit smaller screen (5″ 1280×800, 302 PPI), along with very small (but not 0) bezels. If I look at an iPhone 3GS and imagined the display going right to the edge of the glass (so no change in breakage rates or ability of cases to grab on), I am looking at a bit less than 3 mm borders (around 2.75 mm). There is no need for top and bottom to be that tight – 8.75 mm is plenty small. This results in a 125×73 mm phone with a 5″ screen. That’s what I’d like. If Samsung pushes the boundaries on bezel size, more power to them (just as more power to Apple for pushing the resolution boundaries).
i think a very small bezel would be pretty awesome and I’m ok with on screen buttons that ICS uses; I’ve played around with a galaxy nexus and I am definitely on board
Yeah, I never thought about it, but onscreen buttons would actually work pretty good for games, huh? Wont have those accidental button presses like on capacitive buttons…
Think I need a G-Nex. BAD. O_o
Yes. Yes you do. But depending on the level of awesome (and carrier availability) of the Asus Padfone… I might just have to give it up for that. In which case, I’ll sell mine (Verizon) to you for a good price! =)
Gnex is worth every penny, i was a bit hesitant because of the reviews so i went and bought one to see for myself…..no regrets
Got my fingers cross Sprint announces it in March for early April. Perfect birthday present to myself!
As long as you can get by the camera… I have a co worker with a GNex and he was amazed at the speed of the leaked ICS on the Epic Touch, by the way… Just sayin.
And yeah, the camera isn’t that great. I’ve done comparison shots between both cameras, and that’s a definite difference.
Hopefully they patent it before Apple steals it.
“Apple” and “small bezels” don’t go together. Have you SEEN the huge bezel on iPhones? :)
You mean the iBezel.
iSteal, iSue
they need somewhere to put that one button…
Breaking News: Apple Steals it anyway, and then sues for the rights in Germany.
Personally I like some Bezel it gives your grasp and your touch screen a bit of damper space…. Without it, it seems like you’d hit allot of stuff you didn’t mean to.
I agree. I already accidentally open apps whenever I lock my phone so that the next time I unlock it, whatever app is located at the bottom right corner of the screen will be open.
Bezels usually give some kind of drop protection so you would have to get a case for a phone like this.
I’m interested to see how they make this work.
Its kinda stupid. Yeah it looks awesome but you need somewhere to rest your hand if you watching a movie or playing a game.
Can’t wait for the headaches that will come with explaining to someone how to hold the phone “properly”.
Telling people to NOT to touch the touch buttons on my phone when i’m giving them the phone to show them something is already a pain. :/
EDIT: what about onscreen keyboards? i’m sure typing on a bezel-less screen would be a problem
“… Samsung rumored to be ushering-in the ear of non-existent bezels …”? What do ears have to do with this?
ear=era.
sheesh…
LOL! So weird.. I saw it and fixed it before I published. Must have mistyped it the same way. Silly fingers..
And here I thought you dropped a ‘y’ and meant year.
Add a kickstand and life with no bezel becomes much easier :)
intense gaming session?
it’s ok…those birds never stop being angry
Not diggin it…
I love my GNexus and it’s small bezels, but I do worry about hitting parts of the screen that I didn’t mean to with a truly bezeless phone. Pimpin idea though :)
I think it looks good in pictures, but I have hard time seeing how it would function well in day to day use. Just me holding my current phone shows me having at least two fingers, my thumb, and the part of my hand under my thumb touching enough of the bezel that I think I phone without a bezel would pick up. I can see lots of mis-touches.
I would switch companies mid-contract for this phone.
This is one feature that would actually make me jealous as a Galaxy Nexus owner. You can keep your quad-cores, slightly better display technology, and all of that. But a bigger screen with less bezel is something I can’t say no to.
I like physical buttons, but I haven’t used ICS much yet. But I would still be cool with no bezel on two or three sides. What I’m looking for is a 4″ screen in a phone that’s the same physical size as my Optimus T. It has a 3.2″ screen plus loads of bezel.
They are going to have to make the edges (a couple millimeters) not touch sensitive to prevent accidental touches. Otherwise, it would be very hard to use.
I also wonder how sturdy the casing is going to be.
That seems like the best solution to me. Have it display content edge-to-edge, but don’t allow touches where the normal bezel would be. I can’t think of a situation in which you’d need to press the very edge of the screen.
Solution, removable bezel that has no buttons on it, let people have the option. I know you can take the bezel off most phones at the moment but the you lose the volume rocker, what I mean is make one specifically designed to be easily removed and added back on.
Like having a setting that would increase bezel size by blacking out and making the outer edges non-functional if you wanted the bezel there?
Samsung can do it with their TVs so I think this would be the next logical step
I don’t think it is matter of if they can do or not. It’s matter of how practical it would be and how they can effectively resolve the side effects that comes with it.
Sickk Idea i love Samsung and there amazing ideas it would look sick , might be really fragile but will be amazing
thumbs up if you think the next galaxy s3 and nexus should have little or no borders
Still waiting for a dual bezel less phone on the front and back rocking 3D HD Super AmoLED hotness. Oh I forgot to mention sporting HIDs dualies.
The smaller the bezel the better, since it maximizes the all-important display real estate while reducing the physical device form factor, but a no-bezel phone still has a few basic problems to overcome:
1) Fat-finger oopies with so little to hold onto. This is the hardest problem to solve, but there are smart s/w ways of doing it.
2) Strength. With no bezel there’s less edge material for rigidity, so it’ll have to be beefed up below the display, probably reducing space a little for internal components.
3) Cases/skins: Without covering the screen there’s very little for it to grab on to, AND, if there’s much thickness to it, you won’t be able to reach the edges of the screen with your finger in the crevices.
Not having a bezel doesn’t mean not having a touch area. The phone could have content extend to the edges of the device but touch sensitivity (in software) only extend to a safe or active region. This would allow you to, say, play video with the entire device but present holdable edges for, say, games.
ooooo I like that idea. Would be pretty interesting to see how you would want to control what is in the “untouchable” area of the screen.
no, they need finger grips for the side, it’ll be just like holding a gun, but its your phone
Nice thought but could be a nightmare for app compatibility – a lot of apps require touch on the very edge of the screen (eg any use of swiping).
Looks smokin’ hot, but having near to no bezel and being super thin could be a problem. If the phone had more heft to the thickness, you could hold onto it much easier.
No bezel on a phone would make it harder to get a case that protects the edges of the device well. I’ll stick with a thin bezel in order to keep my phone protected. My GSII is fine with me.
Hahaha, just what Sammy needs, phones that break even easier than they already do.
My Samsung is so light, it doesn’t have time to hit the ground before I catch it.
Practically floats in air, bruh… O_o
In all fairness, I have broken my iPhone, my Milestone, yet somehow have failed to break my Galaxy SII or Galaxy S even though those were and are my main handset. Which I might add I drop frequently, on concrete and tile, I’m 6’4 and am extremely hard on my phones. Soooooooooooooo foo to that statement.
p.s. no case on the Sammy’s. Plastic is scratched to s**t but screen is fine
Can’t be easier to break than the iPhone 4. Plus wtf are you talking about? Samsung phones are very durable. Ever seen the drop tests? i doubt you have otherwise you wouldn’t say that. All in All quit trolling.
From my experience, Sammy’s phones are insanely tough.
Obviously you haven’t used ANY of the Galaxy S lines.
Samsung uses that high protective plastic for a reason you know? Apart from the weight factor.
Go flame somewhere else.
It still can’t compete with iPhone 4 and 4S as far as breakability. Those things break if you sneeze on them.
I just learned the meaning of bezel.
its ok i just learned about 3 months ago
ditto
I can only hope this is what the L710 is ha!
How would a case go on it?
If it’s made of quality design, it won’t need a case.
I disagree…
Your statement doesn’t tell me anything. Explain why you disagree.
Unless you want a case to hold on your waist, I can’t think of any other reason you would need a case for a phone of high-quality durability.
I just cant see having a high dollar phone with no case on it to protect it. I don’t want scrapes and scratches or cracked screens when it inevitably gets dropped. No I don’t wear holsters.
I would personally forgo a case if a phone with narrow bezels can be ruggedized – but this is because I don’t care one bit about scratches on the case and I realize the screen could break with a case too. So if a rugged design is just as good – I’m in.
However, I also get that a lot of people prefer to have cases – so be it. It is very reasonable for a 2.5 – 3 mm (perhaps even 2 mm bezel to hold a case if the case slides tightly and just needs the tiniest lip to grab onto. A case will add 2-5 mm of width to the phone, but narrower bezels are still helpful. In my perfect phone (125×73 mm, 5″ 1280×800 display), this wold mean after a case, I might be more like 127×76. This is still a reasonable size – much smaller than a Galaxy Note without a case.
Smaller Bezels are always better – until they start to go under 2 mm – then there could be issues.
A phone like this might get me to come back to Android in a jiffy! But only with stock ICS!
Ugly
I love it, but what happens when you accidentally drop it? I suspect it will be more prone to screen shatter without a bezel to absorb some of the shock. Guess it will need Corning’s new Gorilla Glass 2.
Oh forgot to mention I’m a fan of capacitive buttons, I don’t like the on screen buttons found in ICS.
Lol samsung makes the best screens as far as im concerned. Corning’s glass was used in the iPhone 4 look how many videos of cracked iPhone 4’s are out there. If samsung makes it best believe it can survive a drop.
The GS2 has Corning’s Gorilla glass just like a majority of smart phones.
FYI
-iPhone 4/4S does not use Corning’s Gorilla Glass, hence the reason why you saw so many videos of cracked iPhones.
-Also I’m not talking about screen technology, I’m talking about the glass on top.
-Samsung uses Corning’s Gorilla glass on many of their phones as Jason also mentioned. Samsung doesn’t make the glass.
-You seem to be a little confused.
“Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve always liked having a little bottom area with actual physical, physical buttons (not that capacitive junk) where I could rest my fingers without having to worry I’m dialing an ex-girlfriend or deleting emails”
i fucking hate those physical physical button with a passion cuz i have to use force (damn mytouch 4g)
yes people im that lazy. i just barely wanna touch the buttons and thats where capacitive buttons come in (loving my gs2)
I miss having physical answer/hang up buttons. When you are trying to answer a call on the last ring, it can be really annoying if slide to unlock lags or you. are in a scenario when you need to answer the phone without looking at it. Smarphones make gret miniature computers but are sometimes not great as actual phones.
I’m not bothered by what you describe, but I wonder if there is a software solution available. Something like configuring your phone to answer when you pick it up and shake it a bit. Is there an app for that on Android? If not, there should be.
It’s interesting. I hate the top and bottom bezels the most because they are huge. Looking forward to this!
How do you look at your screen with all those gangly nubs in the way? What? My fingers are never in front of my screen! I guess if your a caveman you would need an Ipad like bezel.
I love it. I’m looking forward to bezelless phones.
It needs to be designed in a way that I can hold it, accidentally touch the screen, but the phone know that I didn’t mean to touch the screen and ignore it, while still knowing when I intentionally touch the screen. I don’t know how they’ll do it, but I’m not the one with the multi-billion dollar international electronics manufacturer.
If they can do it with the touchpad on my laptop, they can do it with my phone.
Am I the only one that noticed in that picture that the game looks awfully similar to Crysis? Are we getting to the point where we can play the biggest powerhouse of a game ever made on our phones?! lol
I need bezel too, I don’t think my thumb is supposed to bend like that
Samsung should surprise us and release the rumored 11.6″ tablet withotu a bezel !!! this would truly make apple and their fans green with envy.
I dont mind a bit of bezel, but I still think the Razr’s bezels are unacceptable
It’s like in order to make the phone that thin, they had to widen everything out, but didn’t make the screen bigger with the phone. That phone is terrible to hold.
I’m with you on the ‘physical’ buttons Chris. Much prefer them, you can rest your hand there to support the phone without pressing them.
I’d also like flagship phones to have a screen rotate ‘button’ aswell. Too often I’m laing in bed reading and the damn thing flips, hit menu, drag notifcation bar, turn off auto rotate, carry on reading, then want to rotate the screen…. etc….
Though I feel the need for a Bezel, there is no denying the sexiness of the phone without one.
I bet this will also use the next generation gorilla glass, without a Bezel you’ll need the extra toughness.
I don’t think there’s a big issue with a bezeless screen and being able to hold the phone or inadvertently hitting buttons, this issue could easily be resolved in software by allowing one to create their own screen bezel or border along the edges of the screen.
Concept like this is my dream phone for about 3 years, but we will have to wait for phone like this probably eaven more. Untouchable area of the screen could have eaven 3mm to edge, to work well – this is real future phone! i will buy it eaven if it has single core procesor. Having 4.5+ inch display, with dimension about 120x60mm would be GREAT!
Uh ah Chris, you’re *@6 as a Christmas tree, do you really need to worry about calling an ex girlfriend?
PS yeah, no bezel sucks. I have a Sony Ericsson Arc and now even better a Samsung Note which rocks, but the bezel is already too small to be too useful.