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Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

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Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#111
post #98
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "replaceable battery" Can you tell me what is a practical use of a replaceable battery, I've had iPhones for many years and battery does not go bad. Also if in 2+ years you decide to change a battery I doubt you can find an original batter, and will end up with a cheap knockoff which might not work at all. > "weight" Heavier phones directly impact usability and even handling in your pocket, holding it while reading…

I carried a G1 with two spare batteries when doing documentary work. It was lovely. I didn't have to hunt for outlets or deal with using the phone while plugged into a battery pack. If the phone is a widely used model, it's often not difficult to find new-old stock for a while. I gave this list of "not cares" a several year window of context. It's pretty obvious OP doesn't want a bag-phone, but might be perfectly hap…

You can buy a portable charger, not as convenient but also designed for carrying around unlike batteries (honestly carrying around an unprecedented fully charged battery in pockets (bag or clothes) sounds dangerous)

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#112
post #4

Without the bezels, all our phones will look the same. We'll be holding a slab of pixels with some OS, with some voice-activated assistent, with some apps. More or less the same. Even more so than now.

Hence why UI design should be given extreme consideration.

I think the winners will be those who will craft the most magical user experiences.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#113
post #99
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Batteries cost next to nothing. Back in the days I had three additional batteries for my Galaxy S 2 and it was amazing. Others in my team frequently needed time at a charger while I could go from 0% to 100% in a minute while on the go. The batteries came with a charger and were around 10 Euro each.

So you carried those three additional batteries with you all the time? Honestly how many times a day do you charge your phone? Most phones last full day and I dont have a problem plugging it in at the end of the day to the outlet, instead of carrying a set of batteries with me.

> Most phones last full day

I always have to chuckle when that comes up.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#114
post #100
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I carried a G1 with two spare batteries when doing documentary work. It was lovely. I didn't have to hunt for outlets or deal with using the phone while plugged into a battery pack. If the phone is a widely used model, it's often not difficult to find new-old stock for a while. I gave this list of "not cares" a several year window of context. It's pretty obvious OP doesn't want a bag-phone, but might be perfectly hap…

Did you tape those batteries to your phone? How did you carry them with you all the time?

The invention is called "pocket" and/or "bag". I think the patents have expired though...

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am pretty sure the market wants more battery life than "no bezel design", if they thought rationally, and was made to choose only one. It's rather because of the return on investment. From a company's point of view they want to invest as little effort as possible to generate as much effect as possible. Going from 8 hour battery life to 10 hour wouldn't turn the needle for most people, but having a sexy design or a…

> So even if they make a breakthrough making a thinner battery, they would rather use that space to pack something else in, instead of making the battery last longer. This is exactly what happens in the laptop market. We used to have 6 cell batteries, but because battery density has increased so much, we now only have 3 cell batteries. (Well, actually, we don't as they are more shaped to fit super thin chassis now.)…

Actually it's more like 50:50 between improved energy density in batteries and "other stuff" - most importantly "better" CPUs and smarter power management in other hard/software.

The battery in the laptop used to write this comment could power most "ultrabooks" (or it's direct successors) for >24 hours (that is, from the claimed battery life of the newer devices)

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#117
post #108

I recently bought a Samsung Edge for Samsung Gear development, and went abroad for a few weeks so ended up using it with the SIM card for that country while still keeping my phone alive. Apart from the benefits of the edge "design" not being too relevant for me, the biggest issue I had was accidentally hitting notifications when I pulled the phone out of my pocket. At one point I somehow accidentally deleted an app,…

I had a similar issue with places Android phones typically place a standalone "back" button, the bottom right of a phone. When reaching across the phone with my thumb I would constantly bump this back button. The experience was so frustrating on a Galaxy S3 that I change to an iPhone.

I wondered if they have done enough user experience researching how people use the phone. I can't believe I'm the only person who ran into this issue. It's something I've come to admire with Apple products. They're very polished and I rarely run into experiences like what I had bumping the back button on my old S3.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#118
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you'd be fine with a flip phone from 10 years ago and a small high quality camera. You don't seem to be the target audience for the latest smartphones.

About 4 years ago, Sony Ericsson made an Android 2.3 phone called the Xperia Ray. It had a 3.7" 960x480 screen. I used it for 2 years (and again for another year after I broke the Huawei P6 I replaced it with). By the end of that time, it was really past its useable life. Not on account of build quality, battery life, or screen realestate. In all those respects it was fantastic, and still perfectly functional as a fe…

Quite a lot of people have asked me about a small but powerful Android phone, and there are none!

It's incredible, but all companies go in the same direction. In the very few instances when they do innovate, they go in really odd directions (curve displays, in-built projectors), but they don't address basic stuff like size or physical keyboard.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#119
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless someone gets a design patent on "rounded rectangle without bezels".

a circular bezelless phone, one a little chain, in my pocket. I want one.

Circular bezelless phone, on a strap, in my wrist. Oh wait.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#120
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About 4 years ago, Sony Ericsson made an Android 2.3 phone called the Xperia Ray. It had a 3.7" 960x480 screen. I used it for 2 years (and again for another year after I broke the Huawei P6 I replaced it with). By the end of that time, it was really past its useable life. Not on account of build quality, battery life, or screen realestate. In all those respects it was fantastic, and still perfectly functional as a fe…

Quite a lot of people have asked me about a small but powerful Android phone, and there are none! It's incredible, but all companies go in the same direction. In the very few instances when they do innovate, they go in really odd directions (curve displays, in-built projectors), but they don't address basic stuff like size or physical keyboard.

I'm considering buying an Xperia X Compact. It's about the size I think I'd be happy with, Sony devices tend to have great development communities, and Sony itself provides a means to unlock the phone's bootloader, and to compile AOSP for the device.

Of course, it fails in the "cheap" dimension, and also on "size" and "replaceable battery" ones. Still, as far as things that would be considered compact in the current smartphone market, it looks like close to the only option.

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