Samsung's Flex-screen phone to be out by end of this year!

After first promising it as early as 2009, Samsung said recently that it will introduce a curved-screen smartphone in the coming months.

Few details are available, but at a recent demo at the Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung showed off a phone whose screen cut out at an angle on one side, displaying notifications in the additional space. But an ergonomically curved design or even a phone that unfolds to become a tablet could be in the works.

The particular model is less important than the fact that the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer is investing in AMOLED screens, which are more durable and deliver higher quality images, and pushing towards using them without the rigid glass it currently encases them in.

Samsung dropped the news about the new display at its launch of the Gear smart watch, making clear that it intends to stay relevant as mobile computing shifts away from the phone form factor.

If paired with flexible electronics components and freed of glass casing, AMOLED screens could break open the mobile and wearable device market. Samsung is not the only company to flirt with flexible screens, but most of the exciting demos have failed to materialize in the marketplace.

Flexible screens are currently hamstrung by the challenge of finding flexible electronics components durable enough to withstand repeated bending at a price consumers will pay. But a midway point involves putting some of the componentry of the electronics into the AMOLED surface, while leaving the others packaged in a rigid container.

While Samsung’s initial offering will most likely be a tweak to the current blocky smartphone designs and not a radical break from the rectangular screen, it will put the possibilities of flexible screens on the average user’s radar for the first time and pressure its suppliers and competitors to push farther, faster past limits of the rectangular screen.

Samsung v Apple: Galaxy Gear release brings time for smartwatch rivalry!

Samsung's smart-watch going to market in September may set off new battle after wrangles with Apple over tablets and mobiles.

An internet impression of a Samsung smart-watch. The Galaxy Gear will go on sale in September.

The bitter rivalry between Samsung and Apple will expand beyond smartphones and tablets to smart wristwatches next month with Samsung first to market on 4 September with a device called the Galaxy Gear.

Due to be unveiled just before the start of the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin, the device is likely to connect wirelessly to a smartphone to access the internet.

It is thought to be able make voice calls, access emails and surf websites.

Although an on-sale date has not been confirmed, the Galaxy Gear is almost certain to beat Apple's long rumoured "iWatch" to market, although it will not be the first smartwatch to go on sale.

Sony's second device, the SmartWatch 2, went on sale earlier in the summer. US startup Pebble Technology, meanwhile, raised $10.3m (£6.6m) via crowdfunding to make its Pebble smartwatch, which has been pre-ordered by more than 275,000 people.

Research firm Canalys expects more than 500,000 smart-watches to be sold this year, followed by 5m in 2014 as Samsung, Apple, Google and other technology companies launch their own models.

Frequent leaks and patent filings have hinted at these companies' plans. Apple is thought to have a 100-strong team working on its smartwatch, and in June applied for the iWatch trademark in Japan.

The flurry of activity is part of a wider excitement within the consumer electronics industry about wearable gadgets, which also include wireless fitness tracking devices such as the Fitbit and Nike's FuelBand, and eyewear comparable to Google Glass.

Research firm Juniper Research expects more than 18m smart wearable devices to be sold in 2013, rising to 170m by the end of 2018.

AllThingsD: Apple's next iPhone event slated for September 10th!

September 10th, folks -- that's when Apple will unveil its next iPhone according to AllThingsD. We've received no official word yet, but recent leaks (and past form) suggest a refreshed iPhone 5 (possibly with a larger screen?) and possibly a low-cost model clad in plastic. It's a safe bet that the release version of iOS 7 will also make an appearance at the event, which is shaping up to be an iPhone- and iOS-focused affair, according to ATD. Feeling a sense of déjà vu? As always, we'll keep you informed when more concrete info makes its way to us.