A selection of original, but not very successful form factors and approaches to creating smartphones.
Throughout the history of the development of smartphones as a class of devices, we could observe the evolution of components, the development of operating systems, certain changes in approaches in modern devices. Experiments and an attempt to find their own, special path often became the main idea for manufacturers, they cannot be blamed for this, just as the importance of differentiation cannot be denied. Nevertheless, experiments did not always lead to significant results, often such projects were simply closed, leaving rare devices in the cabinet of curiosities with individual enthusiasts. Let's try to remember such smartphones and understand what went wrong in their case.
Sony Xperia Play
With a certain frequency, the minds of engineers and smartphone designers lit up with the thought: why have we still not created a device that would combine a smartphone and a game controller? Nokia tried to kill two birds with one stone, at one time loudly announced its intentions by the announcement of a hybrid phone and game console N-Gage. After two unsuccessful attempts to bring this concept to the mass market, the Finnish company decided to abandon its idea. However, she received reincarnation in the person of Sony Xperia Play.
It seems that the initially good idea (originality of design, versatility of use) was completely spoiled by poor-quality controls. The smartphone clearly lacked performance for the task assigned to it – a high-quality gaming process. And the set of games was very limited. The experience with Play, fortunately, did not allow the company to release a second, improved model, it remained only a concept. It turned out that nobody needs a PSP version with phone functionality.
HTC ChaCha and HTC Status / First
Long-time readers of my materials may remember that the first smartphone on Android for me was HTC Wildfire, a rather modest device in terms of its parameters, but at the time it went on sale it was quite good for non-trivial tasks . It didn't last long with me, but afterwards I often looked at the devices HTC and potentially saw my new smartphone in them. This is what happened with Facebook – smartphones from HTC. I remember how thematic blogs vied with each other about the fact that the company was developing a unique smartphone for active users of a large social network. Two versions saw the light: ChaCha and First / Status.
It would seem a good concept: a dedicated key, an emphasis on a full-fledged keyboard in a fashionable style at that time BlackBerry, a new platform for smartphones Facebook Home (which later became just a shell), full service integration … But it turned out that users did not want to be isolated within the framework of one social network, so smartphones that showed very average sales, as well as the Home platform, quietly disappeared into oblivion.
HTC EVO 3D / LG Optimus 3D
There was a time when manufacturers believed in 3D cameras as the main component of the cutting edge smartphones of the future. There were a lot of concepts heard, but only two models made it to the mass market, from HTC and LG. To the chagrin of the geeks, the quality of the promoted 3D effects left much to be desired, outwardly pretty smartphones did not work as fast as we would like.
It is quite possible that these very technologies became the prototype of modern dual cameras, fortunately, their implementation is made more efficiently.
LG Double Play / Sony Tablet P / Kyocera Echo
Another obsession at one time was the pursuit of two screens in the form factor of foldable smartphones. It is now that we admire Japanese 'clamshells' with a screen instead of a keypad, but they weren't always so sleek. They were preceded by a number of rather grotesque devices, which were an attempt by manufacturers to comprehend the concept of two screens and understand the market reaction to such an approach. In general, the idea of such smartphones was that the user was offered two modes of operation: either on two separate screens, or on one large, as if composed of two. And if in Kyocera Echo with a big stretch it was possible to imagine such a thing, then Sony Tablet P was just a reflection on the topic. There is no point in discussing the implementation of the second display in LG Double Play. See how handsome they are.
In fact, very few manufacturers have succeeded in folding devices, which is probably why the format as such quickly disappeared from the mass market.
Samsung Galaxy S Beam / Galaxy Round
Probably the most daring experimenter is Samsung. For example, before the S series took off, the Korean company had a rather controversial video projector device, the Galaxy S Beam. The smartphone was quite expensive, had mediocre hardware, and the main feature worked very badly.
Subsequently, the company began to be more cautious about such experiments, but did not abandon them. This was confirmed by the Galaxy Round, a smartphone with a flexible display, and the Galaxy Edge that followed. The latter, however, it makes no sense to include in the selection, it turned out to be quite adequate and its 'legacy' resulted in the Edge line, the popularity of which reached new heights with the release of the S7 Edge.
LG G5
And finally, my 'favorite' example from a recent one. The modular smartphone from LG, sensational even before the announcement, actually did not show itself at all. Accessories from renowned manufacturers did not help either; the very implementation of the modular system turned out to be inconvenient for everyday use. It was not possible to ride the trend, the risk did not justify itself.
I would like to wish LG successful promotion of the G6, the device as a whole turned out to be quite good, especially when compared with its predecessor.
It is worth paying tribute to the manufacturers and their desire to experiment with appearance. Perhaps, without such attempts at pen, smartphones would never have reached the stage of development at which they are now. In your opinion, which smartphones can be included in this list?