Phones no longer define class; not in a world where both top notch gadgets and low class wannabees look alike. Once a upon a time a flap phone could differentiate between you and a Nokia 3310 owner but when it couldn't, a colored screen came along: then later on when everyone dumped their monochrome ugly phones, a camera phone with Internet and a few more features that we came to refer to as feature phones did pretty well in differentiating between phone and gadget owners.

Then BlackBerry came - stayed on for a while.

Then a leap in technology happened and the only way to show your status was to own an iPhone...but this was not to be long lived as Samsung, LG, Tecno, now Nokia, and every other dick and hurry joined the bandwagon of touch screen phones and watered down the significance of owning an iPhone - today everyone owns a touch screen smartphone...and phones no longer define class and status - phones no longer massage your ego.

No it doesn't matter whether it is labeled Samsung Galaxy Note 3 on the cover. I'll tell you why in my next post. In the meantime, be prepared by reading the article - The government should turn around and promote the counterfeit phones in Kenya. For example, do you own a Samsung Galaxy Note 3? Do you think you'll be recognized if you flash it everywhere? Forget it. This Nokia Lumia 630, a very cheap device compared to the likes of Samsung Galaxy S5, has offered me special recognition that the Nokia Lumia 930 is failing to give...simply because from the outward look the Lumia 630 has a beauty the high end devices are jealous of.

No, I doubt whether the once a upon a time class status recognition will be brought back by the yet to be launched 4.7" iPhone 6 as generally, except Americans, people moved away from the iPhone craze thanks to Samsung Galaxy S2 and beyond (see the article - The two coolest features coming with iPhone 6).

On 3rd September Samsung unveiled two Note devices - the highly acclaimed Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and a sister, the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is everything Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is except for one important thing, it has a side screen that works independently beautifully curved at the right edge. Have a look.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

There are minor differences though. The physical dimensions in Samsung Galaxy Note Edge makes the phone a little bit smaller in size; which is a good thing given that the screen size is the same 5.7", the Note Edge has a higher pixel density at 524ppi whereas the Note 4 has a 515ppi pixel density, and the Edge has slightly lesser battery at 3000 mAh compared to Note 4's 3300 MAh. Most of the other things are exactly the same including the cameras on both phones.

The Edge on Samsung Galaxy Edge will give you the desired class and status

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge has two screens: the main screen that everyone is familiar with and the edge screen for shortcut controls. This is the game changer as it both revolutionize the phone's physical appearance and transforms how a smartphone is used.

The edge screen is meant to replace the shortcut menu normally at the bottom of every screen in Android devices. By default this bottom shortcut menu panel has customizable icons for Messages, Phone, Contacts, and maybe Gmail or Setting. When an App is opened, the shortcut menu gets hidden. The edge wants to put that shortcut menu panel on the edge of the screen thereby freeing your entire screen for a full viewing experience at all times. When watching a video for instance, you can control the video without having to decrease the size of the screen.

Notifications, Twitter Feed, Clock, Weather, and many other important functions are accessible from the edge screen so your main App won't be interrupted. The S-Pen can be used to control the edge screen too. This video by Android Authority shows the edge screen in action.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is the next phone I want to own

I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 mainly because it is a phone that was a game changer and redefined the functions of smartphones. If you can remember, it is the Samsung Galaxy S3 that incorporated smart functionalities including smart stay, turn or palm to mute, smart call, shake to refresh, among others in a smartphone - functionalities that Samsung Galaxy S4 scaled up to smart scroll and other gesture motions.

With the features in Samsung Galaxy S3, one could be able to command recognition simply by smart muting that interrupting phone call in a middle of a meeting by placing the palm over the phone or turning it upside down...but proliferation of touch screen phones has taken that away from the once upon a time king of smartphones.

Do you miss the special class recognition that was once upon a time provided by an iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy S3? Do you want that status back? A phone that looks different, a phone that is used differently, and a phone that would make the person seated next to you stare longer is the phone you need..that phone is the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

Good and bad news

About two months after the release of Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Samsung launched yet another Galaxy Note 3 variant - The Samsung Galaxy Round. Although the Galaxy Round was liked by the people who owned it, the unique curved handset never saw the light of day outside South Korea. At the launch of Samsung Galaxy Edge, some techies thought that the Samsung Galaxy Edge will follow the steps of Samsung Galaxy Round hence will only be available in South Korea . The good news is that Samsung Galaxy Note Edge will find feet outside South Korea as US carriers are already announcing plans to offer the classy phone to their subscribers; meaning it is very likely the phone will land in Kenya. If and when it does, we'll ensure we run a full review of the unique high end Note device for you.

The bad news is that there is a high chance you won't be able to get one - just because Samsung won't want many of you to have it. It is said that only limited editions of Samsung Galaxy Note Edge will be made and as such only a limited number of Samsung customers will be able to own one. This means that to own this phone you will need to part with the premium price of probably Shs 80,000 at launch as waiting won't do you any good - Samsung Galaxy Note Edge will likely not be available after the first round  of shipment.

What do you think, would it have been better if Samsung included the edge screens on both sides of the device? Left handed people are already complaining.