Samsung launches world's first smartphone with curved screen 'Galaxy Round'

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Wednesday launched the world's first smartphone with a curved display, a variant of the Galaxy Note which moves the Asian giant a step closer to achieving wearable devices with flexible - even unbreakable - screens.Curved displays open up possibilities for bendable designs that could eventually transform the high-end smartphone market, where growth has slowed amid competition from low-end producers.Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch released last month has a flat screen, but the company is hoping to have the technology to make more attractive and wearable devices in what is shaping as a key battleground for consumer electronics companies.Technology firms have yet to figure out how to cheaply mass produce the parts and come up with display panels that can be thin and heat-resistant. Batteries also have to take new forms to support flexible screens that can be rolled out, attached to uneven surfaces or even stretched. The battery in the Galaxy Round is not curved, Samsung said.Competition is heating up with Samsung's cross-town rival LG Electronics planning to introduce a smartphone with a vertically curved display in the first week of November, a source familiar with the matter said this week.Its components affiliate, LG Chem Ltd, said on Tuesday it had started commercial production of a curved battery for use in the device.The firm also said it has developed a battery in cable form, suitable for wearable devices, and expected to start commercial production within the next couple of years.Technology analysts and media reports say Apple is working on a smartwatch, potentially with a curved screen, but there has been no word from the California-based company about its plans.Samsung's new curved-screen phone, available through South Korea's biggest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co Ltd, costs 1.089 million won ($1,000).