New Phones: YotaPhone, Jolla Phone, Eco-Mobius & G Flex

This week I’m going to focus on some interesting phones (real and conceptual) that have been mentioned recently. These phones all introduce something new and different from what we’ve seen, and this will be the key to success in the already saturated smartphone market – differentiation.

First off is the YotaPhone. This is a Russian made phone that features not one, but two screens. The phone features 4.3 inch LCD display on the front and a 4.3 inch E-Ink display on the back. The E-Ink display is the same technology found in the Kindle and Kobo e-readers. The phone essentially gives you the best of both worlds, by literally giving you both. The E-Ink screen is very low power, and the idea is to use it to display notifications (such as the time, or messages) without draining the battery. The screen can also be used by those who prefer to read on a screen that isn’t backlit. The phone, which is made by a company named Yota Devices, will be running Android 4.2.2, giving users full access to any games and apps on Google Play. The phone is said to be released internationally, sometime in December.

The next phone is called the Jolla Phone. Interestingly, Jolla is an independent Finnish company formed by a number of ex-Nokia staff. The unique feature of this phone is that it will have their newly designed operating system, called Sailfish. It offers some interesting panning features, and allows interaction with applications directly from the home screen. The idea is to offer an incredibly personalized experience, pretty much the opposite of an iPhone. The device itself has a low resolution 4.5 inch screen, and looks to be priced at $535, which is fairly steep for the features of the phone. Jolla is expecting the new operating system to draw users in, and is especially hoping to benefit from some national pride in Finland. The device will be launched on November 27^th in Finland, and they hope to be selling the device across Europe before the end of 2013. No word yet on an international release.

This next phone is a concept phone called the ZTE Eco-Mobius. Very similar to the Phonebloks concept that I mentioned earlier this month, the phone would have interchangeable modules that slide into place using tracks and features pieces that are attached magnetically. This concept has been designed by China-based ZTE corporation, and is designed so that all the pieces are replaceable and swappable, to reduce waste.

The last phone I’ll mention is LG’s G Flex phone. Very similar to the Samsung Round that I talked about previously, LG looks like it will get an edge by being the first to bring a curved phone to the United States. The G Flex features a curved display, and self-healing backing, which apparently fixes scratches in seconds. Another neat feature is that unlike the Samsung Round, the G Flex is actually somewhat flexible. The rumours have been flying that the phone will be released in the next few months through multiple U.S. carriers, but nothing official has been announced.

And while we have all of these unique phones being released or designed, there are many other phones trying to stand out based on various features. For example, Google’s Motorola just released an actual low cost smartphone (unlike the high priced iPhone 5C). The Moto G is not only going to run Android Kitkat (4.4) by January, it also has 720p 4.5 inch display and a quad core processor. All of this for $200, unlocked and off-contract. Some are trying to differentiate themselves by the camera (Nokia 1020), or by size (Sony Xperia Z Ultra). And all of these phones offer various operating systems. Android is running away with the lead, as third quarter numbers show that 4 out of every 5 smartphones sold in the world is running Android. Samsung is leading the way in Android sales selling 80.4 million phones this quarter, well above the 30.3 million iPhones sold by Apple. Microsoft moved up with the Windows phone becoming the world’s No.3 smartphone OS, selling 8.9 million units in the third quarter (more than doubling last year’s total). And this meant that Blackberry sales plummeted, selling half as many handsets as they did this quarter last year. It will certainly be interesting to see what comes next in this every changing phone market.

The last thing I’d like to mention is that rumours have been flying around that Facebook offered Snapchat $3 Billion to buy its business, and Snapchat said no. Snapchat is an application that allows users to send pictures which autodestruct after a few seconds. It’s usage has been increasing substantially, with the company reporting 350 million messages sent a day through its service. This all comes after Facebook announced that teen usage is declining, which may have been the reason for this offer. It will be interesting to see how Snapchat does in the future, and if it was worth turning down $3 Billion.