Don't get us wrong, the concept of a truly dynamic keypad on a phone is awesome, and we're sure that the concept is going to be going places in the next few years -- we just don't think that a handset that looks like
this is going to be the one to light the fire. Pictures of the
Alias2 from Samsung have filtered in after yesterday's user manual leak, giving us a better idea of what the phone looks like; we still can't put our finger on what technology the keypad is using, but given that we've heard that it'll retain its layout with the battery out, we're starting to think that it might be segmented E Ink. Active matrix E Ink would've been ten times cooler, but we imagine it's not quite at the price point yet where it makes sense for a product in this range. Keep on keepin' on with the innovative stuff, though, guys -- just make sure it spends a little more time in the design department next time.
posted Mar 27th 2009 1:59PM
Is that a Safari logo I see? Hmm...
Thank god I looked at the picture again before instantly accusing you of having to bring apple into this.....blah blah blah everything rips off the iphone.
God dammit Samsung
That's EXACTLY what I was about to point out...
Hate to burst your bubble fellas, but I'd be willing to be thats VZ Navigator, not Safari. ANYTHING in this world has to be better than the first Alias though. That keyboard was abysmal.
It's a mirrored Safari logo. The red pin is normally in the top right of the compass and the white one in the bottom left.
Similarly with the Windows Messenger logo. The wee green dude is normally at the back, not the front.
Regardless of the icons, that is one confusing interface...
Wow, as others have pointed out, it's like Microsoft Bob or Packard Bell Navigator on a phone...with poorly ripped-off icons.
Interesting piece of hardware, horrid looking software. How the hell does shit like this get through QA?
I agree, didnt like the first alias at all. This looks a little better but still doesnt do it for me. The idea of a dynamic keyboard is pretty interesting though.
The sad part is how fashion-oriented the phone industry has become. It is sad, all these cool phones awesome rotating hinges, rotating keyboards, even stereo speakers, all this awesome stuff that a site like "enGADGET" should be amazed by... all this gadgetry gets put down just because it's not "trendy" & "flashy" enough for the masses. It's a sad, sad world...
And that's an MSN Messenger logo there too, if I'm not mistaken. Convergence!
Windows Live Messenger, to be more correct. MSN is just a web portal now, and the only services it offers now are MSN Direct (truly awesome for GPS devices), and then MSNTV (kinda outdated) and MSN Dial-Up (VERY outdated).
Oh good. I've been waiting for the MS-BOB UI paradigm to make a resurgence.
Beat me to it.
looks ok to me. I love clamshell phones.
lol at gizmodo trying to clow engadget .. sorta
http://i.gizmodo.com/5187259/iphone-app-aggregates-gizmodo-and-engadget-air-traffic-control-currently-watching-for-flying-pigs
That's a Motorola MPx from about 2 years ago... sigh, c'mon Sammy, you can do better.
I personally loved the first alias. I like to play games on my phone, and it seems like the best bet, especially with the two views. I am currently using an enV2, and that phone is huge and locks up if you just look at it. Will I get this? Probably not, but it certainly isn't the worst, and especially at the $70-100 price point the current alias resides in.
I like my Alias too. I don't find the keyboard so hard to use and love the dual-flip. It's not very good for gaming though as it can only run the low-end versions of a lot of the mobile games out there. Forget 3D and such.
Also, my Alias has a goofy "desktop" UI but also the standard Verizon one that is very simple and user friendly. Just a change of the settings will get you there.
Verizon would be going to an all time low by releasing this,.,.LOL !!!
Looks like the old Motorola Mpx that never came to be.
is it me or is this just superbly typical for a samsung verizon phone. seriously. you could have just shown me a picture of the phone, and i would have told you it'd be headed for verizon.
Wow, give me a break. OK, the dynamic keypad is fantastic and hopefully that takes off and becomes supremely useful. But, the whole concept of a graphical analogy to a physical room or desktop in your UI is so... 1996. In fact, this looks just like some horrible crapshell that Hewlett Packard (yes, Hewlett Packard, not HP) put on their Win95 boxes back around '96, it was kind of their answer to MS Bob, but for the actual desktop. You clicked around "rooms" of a house to do certain tasks, and of course, on that hardware, it just made the computer unusably slow, and the analogies just didn't even work.
Samsung you rock, but this GUI does NOT.
If it's like most Samsung phones, there's probably three or four homescreens that you can choose between.
I seriously doubt they're going to alienate users who want a more basic home screen.
I don't know why Engadged it hating on this phone. So what if they don't have the best tech for key changes? I say, wow, a low cost phone that uses E-ink? In an interesting form factor? Good job Samsung.
taking on iphone with BOB mobile. or is it iTouch BOB!!!
Anyone else remember a layout kinda like this for windows 98? I forget what it was called but it was set up like a bed room with a TV for media and a phone for messaging... I guess my post is kinda pointless but it just struck that memory.
I swear I saw a guy in the gym yesterday with a phone that looked just like that.
The interface is obviously designed by the marketing department. Seriously, hire a qualified interface designer.
What its that home-screen supposed to be . . . an elementary school?? Exactly whom is that supposed to appeal to?
Reminds of the retro 80's block cell phone pad.
looks like the old nokia n93 to me
"Keep on keepin' on with the innovative stuff, though, guys -- just make sure it spends a little more time in the design department next time."
Yes please. And enough with the damn stickers already, give me more screen.
Ugh, that UI makes me want to hurl.
It's got absolutely TERRIBLE tactile feedback. I've used it. Might as well go touchscreen, no button advantage here.
Looks like an old time chinese-designed interface designed by some people that worked at MSI at one time perhaps, on an korean product, strange.
looks like a phone to me
Good ol' Verizon OS... still looking as shitty as ever!
I think you'll find that Samsung has "borrowed" this feature from Panasonic's P-01A phone for NTT Docomo.
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/p01a/features.html
The different horizontal and vertical keyboards is achieved through a simple physical mechanism - the 2-way hinge slides the keyboard template vertically to reveal the alternate layout depending on which way it is opened. You can see how this works in pictures here:
http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0811/05/news120.html
Korean company stole Japanese idea again? :D
http://k-tai.hitachi.jp/h001/index.html
Korean has no sense of shame!!
I still have my Alias and its a great phone. I wouldnt mind getting the Alias 2 I just want to see what improvements if any they have made.
umm, theres no numbers on the keyboard so this most likely wont be the real alias2
There are no numbers because the keys are each a screen of their own. They change when you push a button or when you open the phone the other way.
i just got this phone last night. it is HOT!! i love it. ive played with the iphone, g1, and storm....but this is by far the best keypad i ever used.
I personally love this phone. I just got it today and think it's a really fun phone to use. The keyboard has some cool technology. To the person who said this is a Japanese rip off, not true. The only similarity is the hinge. The keyboard has completely different technology.
After previously owning the sch-u740 aka Alias I upgraded to the Alias 2. After getting used to the sch-u740's layout of the keyboard it is a big change with the Alias2. Some of the buttons are in completely opposite spots which will need some getting used to, but the buttons on the keyboard are bigger, which is nice. It came loaded with "cool" ringtones, but no games. I have had some trouble finding puzzle games that are compatible with the alias2, maybe it's because it just came out?? I dunno. The only downfall I have seen with this model is that there is no flash for the camera, when there was a flash with the previous sch-u740 aka Alias. I agree that the menu screen with that pre-school room is totally bogus and should never have been included. The Alias2 does have different menu features like Tab, Grid, or List and it is easily customizable. The Alias2 is more user friendly than the first one which will help a lot of mentally deficient people set up the phone and customize it. Also, the little hinges that you have to pull out on the side of the phone to either expand the memory or to charge the phone feel flimzy compared to the sch-u740 and I'm afraid after prolonged use of the Alias2 they might break. I guess that's what insurance is for, but I have to say the sch-u740 felt a lot more sturdy compared to the second version of this phone. Some other things like recording voice while you are in a call and the colorful sticky note font for dialing in the main screen are not included in the Alias2. All in all I give the new Alias 7 stars out of 10, where I would give the sch-u740 an 8 out of 10 stars. I'm totally addicted to texting and if you want a small compact phone that fits in your pocket easily and doesn't weigh a lot this is the phone for you. Cheers to Samsung for yet another awesome phone.