Samsung curved-screen smartphone unveiled

Samsung has released a smartphone with a curved display — and a $1,000 (€740) price tag.

The Galaxy Round has a curved 5.7in (14.5cm) screen and uses advanced organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology.

The Korean company said such a curved screen smartphone is the first in the world.

Samsung said the curve will make it easier to grip. The high-end gizmo has some features that make use of the display’s curve, such as playing the next song in a music playlist by tilting the phone to the left or to the right.

South Korea is the leader in developing curved digital display technology. Samsung and rival LG, the world’s two- largest makers of display screens, have produced curved TVs using OLED displays.

The curved display is an initial step before handset makers develop smartphones with a flexible display that one day might be folded like a map, say experts. Samsung offered the public a peak at mobile devices with flexible displays at a gadget show in Las Vegas in January.

SK Telecom in South Korea started selling the handset today for 1.1m won (€756) without a service contract — making it one of the priciest smartphones on the market.