Review: Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
Monday, February 23, 2015 at 11:16AM 
By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Samsung is really focusing on what this tiny sliver of slanted screen can offer. They do include various apps and app add-ons that can make use of the Edge display. This is an innovative feature that's still too new and too insular to be considered as anything more than a gimmick.
Faced by declining sales of its flagship Galaxy S5 as well as mounting competition from Apple, Samsung is trying very hard to innovate in the smartphone space by leveraging its mastery of displays. The answer is the Galaxy Note Edge, which takes the Note 4’s best features, and adds a unique curved edge screen which tapers to the right-hand side of the phone.
Curved screens in smartphones aren’t new. Samsung’s Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus smartphones, which it created for Google, featured slightly curved displays and LG has gone to town with its LG G Flex smartphone which doesn’t just featured a curved display, it can actually be bent (at least the original phone could).
For the Galaxy Note Edge, the curved edge works like an interactive spine, for the applications that support it, it can show various toolbars, shortcuts, tickers, widgets and extensions.
While the focus on this device will be the screen technology, which features a stunning Quad HD + Super AMOLED display, arguably the best Samsung has shipped, there are various design and material touches worth mentioning.
Much like the Galaxy Note 4, the Note Edge has a professional and premium feel to it. It has the right amount of weight and density, the rear backplate is grippy and the device feels good in the hand. The SPen is still there esconced in its neat little receptacle ready to be used with the dozen or so apps that come preloaded.
The Galaxy Note Edge features all the functionality we've covered on the Note 4 but adds the extra screen functionality that's still new to the Samsung ecosystem.
Samsung is really focusing on what this tiny sliver of slanted screen can offer. They do include various apps and app add-ons that can make use of the Edge Display. This is an innovative feature that's still too new and too insular to be considered as anything more than a gimmick.
The Edge Display is the focal point in accessories, the leather cases have a section cut off so the Edge Display is always visible, sort of like some older Galaxy Cases which had window cut outs in front.
The Note Edge has some formidable specs as well, including a 2.7 GHz Quad Core Processor, 3GB of RAM and onboard storage of 32GB, a microSD can boost storage by up to 128 GB.
The Note Edge is also the first smartphone to be able to take advantage of Rogers' CAT6 spectrum to increase speeds.
CAT6 combines AWS and 2600 MHz frequencies for speedier download speeds when supported.
The service is live in Toronto, Oshawa North, Caledon East and Stouffville and in also in some communities within Vancouver, Walnut Grove.
Testing the Note Edge around the GTA, I managed to get download speeds of around 26 Mbps as well as upload speeds of up to 16Mbps which was quite impressive.
After testing the Galaxy Note Edge, I was impressed with the quality of its display as well as many of the aspects that made the Galaxy Note 4 an outstanding phablet.
The camera is similarly outstanding and while a bit slow to shoot, it managed to take very good images under various conditions.
I shot some photos in a dimly lit conditions and was generally happy with the quality and brightness of the images.
If you've not handled a Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, you'll be suprised at how well-built and cohesive it feels. The choice of textures and finishes are used by this and the Galaxy Note 4 really feel more professional and durable.
Samsung is feeling competition from all sides. A few years ago, they diversified the smartphone space with sizes, both larger and smaller. The larger screen sizes prevailed and these devices helped Samsung rise to its lofty place as the leading smartphone manufacturer.
Samsung's dominance is faltering, mostly because competitors have caught up and now offer the same sizes as many of Samsung's most popular phones. The situation today is that many flagship smartphones are equally powerful and functional. This means that any smidgen of differentiation can be seen as an advantage.
The Edge Display is still too new and too insular a feature to be considered as anything more than a gimmick. I appreciate the engineering and technology that has gone into creating the feature, but after trying to get some real functionality out of it for weeks, it soon became a feature I generally avoided.
Samsung may still prove me wrong and add some compelling functionality to the Edge Display, we will also likely see this innovation come to newer Samsung smartphones.
Until that happens, it's difficult to recommend the Galaxy Note Edge on the merit of the Edge Display alone specially at the high asking no-contract price of CAD $900.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Reader Comments (1)
From my perspective I think you have missed the point of the edge screen. With previous touch screen phones, eg iPhone, all you have is a conglomeration of icons on the screen - I just cannot cope with that - drives me round the bend! Now I have 4 home screens: a full screen calendar, full screen music player, full screen weather app and full screen photo slideshow. All my frequently used app icons sit neatly on the edge, right at my fingure tips and no clutter!!
Beautiful! Thank you Samsung!
Allan