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For every device like the Galaxy S5, you can bet Samsung has at least three or four other Android handsets that more often than not leave us scratching our head. In celebration of this week’s launch of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, which looks to be one of the best Galaxy handsets of all time, we’re counting down the top 7 devices to leave us saying “WTF?”
7. Samsung Galaxy Mega
Nothing represents the confused nature of the phablet better than the Samsung Galaxy Mega. It wants badly to have the appeal of the Galaxy Note series but offers no real enhancements for its size. What is left ends up feeling a lot like a small tablet masquerading as a big smartphone, and the result of an arrangement like that is usually never pretty. We don’t really see a place for the 6.3-inch Mega among Samsung’s smartphone lineup, but we can think 6.3 reasons for it to lead off our list.
6. Samsung Galaxy Music
If you fall into a very particular consumer niche, there is a good chance Samsung has a phone for you. For tweens looking for a first time smartphone that can double as an MP3 player because a regular smartphone is obviously not good enough for such a purpose, there is the Galaxy Music. Not an overly offensive smartphone given its aspirations to be no more than an entry-level device, the inclusion of dual stereo speakers and dedicated hardware buttons for music playback are a bit ill-conceived. You could include any other number of similarly targeted low-end Galaxy devices on this list, but we’re taking the Music to represent them all.
5. Samsung Galaxy Gear
Samsung’s latest Gear smartwatches are actually quite solid pieces of wearable tech. Unfortunately, it took the launch of the original Galaxy Gear to get there. Its chunky design and gaudy finish options were matched by a user interface that attempted to do too much given the form factor. Samsung’s decision to launch the smartwatch with support only for the Galaxy Note 3 before rolling out compatibility for other devices months later never gave it a chance to catch on. Samsung has since ditched the Galaxy brand for their Gear lineup and switched from Android to Tizen. If only they had made the decision sooner and left this one in the prototype lab.
4. Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom
As if the Galaxy Camera — a device that almost made our list — wasn’t enough, Samsung took the next logical step. Instead of simply putting Android on a camera and leaving it at that, they decided to mount a full-fledged point-and-shoot camera to an otherwise functional Android smartphone. While its Galaxy S4 roots mean a respectable hardware compliment, its 16MP CMOS camera sensor with 10x optical zoom leads to a clumsy design lacking in easy pocketability. For whatever reason Samsung looks to rehash the idea with the Galaxy S5.
3. Samsung Galaxy Beam
When you want to show a friend something on your smartphone you could simply hand it over to them. If you’re Samsung, you instead make a phone with a built-in pico projector and beam that YouTube video right onto the nearest flat service. Hence, the Galaxy Beam was born. Sammy actually attempted to launch the phone in 2010 before eventually giving it a fairly limited release in 2012, but it’s safe to say the admittedly intriguing concept was doomed from the start.
2. Samsung Galaxy Round
We get it, Samsung, you can make curved OLED displays. But did you have to make the Galaxy Round? Sure, the spec sheet is respectable — a 5.7-inch HD display, 2.3GHz quad-core processing, 3GB RAM, and a 13MP camera — but that’s about where the Round stops making sense. From its faux-leather finish to gimmicky features that take advantage of the phone’s ability to rock when placed on a flat service, we’re not mad that the Galaxy Round never saw a wider release.
1. Samsung Continuum
You’ll notice that the only device on this list to not feature Galaxy in the name also happens to come in at the top. We blame the naming scheme on Verizon, as Samsung has shown no qualms about slapping the Galaxy brand on any handset that runs Android. The blame for launching this zany smartphone with a secondary notification ticker display? That falls squarely on Samsung. This variant of the original Galaxy S launched in fall of 2010 and quickly fell into obscurity. We hope it stays there.
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Are you one of the 12 people that bought the Samsung Continuum and do you have a bone to pick with us over its positioning on the list? Did we miss a device that rightfully deserves a spot among our rankings? Let us know what you consider the most WTF device Samsung has ever made in the comments below.
I never heard of the Beam before…WTF indeed.
I remember seeing it at CES and thought it was a cool idea. It’s probably either worthless or before it’s time.
Look for it on the NOTE 5,when they start running out of s*** to put on a phone………………
Could actually be a useful feature,whether for business or pleasure.
I could see a case made for a smallish 6-7inch tablet with a pico projector, but on a phone we are 10+ years from having the battery life to support it.
I think the worst thing about the beam was the fact that apparently because this thing has a pico projector on it, it must not need decent specs for its time. I’ve seen a few projector phones and they ALWAYS ALWAYS gimp the specs on them.
I can’t wait for Project Ara (aka Phonebloks) to really take off, and I could totally see myself picking up a “projector/screen/battery” module that will mount where my screen goes, give me extra battery to power the projector, and then allow my screen to mount on top of itself to allow me to interact. Now THAT…. would be FREAKING AWESOME. And the best part is, snap it on when you want to show it off, and take it off when you don’t need it. :D
Seriously, I’m thinking when Project Ara takes off, we’ll see a lot more crazy stuff able to take off, since they can then sell directly to consumers!
Sammy just has the cash to make whatever device they feel like and put it out.
I assume their R&D department consists of a dart board and a couple dozen device concepts. If the team lead throws a dart and hits your concept, you win and your device gets made.
I got one on 2.5 inch screen and one on depleted uranium build material. What to do, what to do…
I see it a little like what Google does. They know that not everything they make will be a hit, but they still make it and see where it goes.
seems like samsung likes to throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks… to bad it’s cheap plastic, horrid design and terrible battery life..
Don’t forget touchwiz!
oh i mentioned touchwiz, it fell under the horrid design part
Use a Galaxy Note 3. While I’d prefer it’s features on stock Android, TouchWiz makes perfect sense there and works well. I also regularly get 15+ hours of battery life on this thing.
Yes, thats why they are doing so bad and not selling any products at all…
Not selling at all. The Most Selling Phones in the world. That’s a fact
I was being sarcastic bro
Battery life, horrible? What rock have you slept under?
The Samsung DoubleTIme ranks up there on the list too. It’s a weird flip phone with 2 horrible screens, bad specs, and a gaudy physical keyboard.
Had to look that one up,I vaguely remember seeing it.Hard to believe that was less than 3 years ago.
Perhaps if physical QWERTY’s were still popular…….
“…if physical QWERTY’s were still popular”
=.[
Yes! I was surprised that one wasn’t mentioned.
That was actually the first one that came to my mind. Weird phone!
My mom has a Mega and love that big bastard.
Seeing quite a few of these lately.Actually thought it was a smart choice by SAMSUNG to put out a big-screen phone w/o all the NOTE series features.Some people just like a big screen,period.
Seems like a no-brainer to me………
Samsusng galaxy admire 4g
Everyone complains that all phone design is the same. Samsung makes avant garde devices and their top seller is the one that looks like everything else.
Avant garde might be a slight exaggeration. But I get what you mean.
I have a Continuum and I am outrageously offended. Totally, underrated, this is the best phone EVER to exist. I put Windows 8.0 on it (none of this 8.1 compromise) and use it to control my Wii U.
wut
Can’t tell if troll or shortsighted mobile device user.
My vote goes to the Samsung Galaxy NX camera. Their design in camera bodies is just as ugly as their design in phones. Only crazy people would shell out €1100 for that piece of plastic.
#5, really? Seems like it was just a first early-adopter type thing and, like all gadgets, it’s improving. Really don’t see the WTF in that one.
Wow. I predicted almost all of the ones on the list.
Samsung makes some weird devices, but they stick in your mind a little. Haha.
I actually think the projecter in phone thing could have a future
Why not just connect an accessory that does the same? I can’t think why anyone would need an inbuilt projector so much that it’s worth the extra bulk.
laugh at me…but I kinda liked the Galaxy Beam..I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread…but the meager specs kept me from buying it……
Absolutely agree. Still waiting for the day that a built in projector is fairly common. What doomed this device was the mid-low specs.
Put that projector in a top spec phone!
We can laugh an point all we want, but at some point the Galaxy Note could easily have been on this list……. until it became a huge hit. I won’t fault a company for trying new and unorthodox ideas.
Could not agree more.
Yes I agree totally! Samsung is helping push innovation in a market that was controlled and driven by Apple. It takes companies like Samsung to push the envelope and find out what works and what doesn’t.
Agreed. Especially with our society. The dumbest things are immensely popular so you might as well create dumb things and see what happens.
This list is stupid. We should value companies that make so many different things and try real hard to provide specific products for every kind of people out there.
This article is called feedback.
If things are good, we praise them and give them their appraisal.
If it sucks, we talk about it and make articles like this. LoL!!
If only it was Galaxy branded, the Samsung Behold 2 should have a spot on that list. What a piece of junk that was, the gimmicky cube interface and horrible touchwiz 1.0
Yes I had that phone it was soo laggy!
Why is this an article? More bashing I guess, it’s missing a “sponsored by HTC” tag…
I dunno … the crazy overflow of Samsung devices, let alone Android devices in general, is pretty comical sometimes. You’ve got to admit.
i don’t know lol htc makes almost as many different devices rofl. http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php
edit: fixed link
What if they’re going to make an HTC one later? Possibly tomorrow? And also do one for other manufactures as well? I mean, this article is the 1st of it’s kind.
The Mega is cool, not many people actually use the stylus on their Note’s, me included, so it was a good solution at a good price, still with really good specs.
I wouldn’t consider a 720p 6.4 ” screen “really good specs”
That’s 6.3″ actually. Same screen resolution as the Note 2 had at the same time. No phone had 1080P or greater at the time it was released. Consider that…
I think some of these are harshly judged. The Round, the Beam, even the Continuum are more proof of concept devices. Something to test the waters and see how people and the media respond. I feel the Zoom is the only one truly deserving of WTF.
This means you don’t care for the Samsung Memoir as well? It’s the same concept.
I welcome the Zoom with open arms.
tbh, I don’t see any real wtf’s here lol. I came in expecting some too. I think this article might be wtf tho.
The s4 zoom is a great device. My wife loves hers, previously she’d carry a point n shoot and her phone all the time because she is always taking pictures of the kids. The camera on this crushes any smartphone but she can still Facebook and instagram immediately no matter where she is. The s5 version has an upgraded sensor and is going to be thinner. I’m really looking forward to it.
I guess if you play the percentages only 7 out of 4156 devices that Samsung brands with the Galaxy name, it’s not too bad. Lol
I think phandroid has a rage against Samsung.
It’s not phandroid, it’s Kevin the Apple lover.
“Most WTF Galaxy Devices”… and no mention of the Galaxy NX, an Android-powered SLR camera. Come on.
Galaxy NX was pretty good though at taking pics.
If this moron said “service” instead of “surface” one more time I was going to snap.
Beginning to wonder if I need a different android news site… :/
nah, keep this site. it’s the author who’s the iboy. for the most part, this is a great android site. i actually took off the verge off my list like 6 months ago though lol. couple others too like gizmodo like 2 yrs ago
If they released a Mega 2, i’d be half tempted to trade in my Note 3, a bigger screen is just a much more enjoyable experience and being a man, I don’t give two farks of how stupid I look carrying a big phone around vs all the iphone dweebs im surrounded by.
i completely forgot about the galaxy round lolololo