The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge with the rounded spine, the screen curving away and tucking it under the chassis is expected to be another evolutionary step forward in the way of developing the smartphones and therefore the way we’re going to be using phones.

For that reason its release in sales is expected with great interest worldwide.

But it seems that the manufacturer has a bit of bad news for anyone who wanted to pick up Samsung’s unusual Galaxy Note Edge following week. Samsung had intended to open online bookings on November 14 scheduled to go on sale on November 28, but that date passed without any signal of pre-orders.

A Samsung representative has nowadays stated that it’s dealing with a two-week delay, meaning the retail release has been pushed back from November 28th to December 12th.

The company has presented no explanation for the postpone, but presented the unique form factor, it’s totally possible that fabrication is taking a little longer than normal.

Also, the Korean company will have a somewhat limited release in the UK, given its experimental form factor and so far Vodafone is the only UK network which has devoted themselves to sell the smartphone.

This is not the first time, Samsung has suffered release date issues in the last few months. It was pushed to delay the release of the Galaxy Note 4 in the UK following its launch at IFA 2014.

Here you can find a review of the new hardware,

As the latest addition to their ongoing point-for-point rivalry, South Korean technology companies LG and Samsung have both this week let the world know of their respective plans to launch ‘105-inch curved 21:9 LED TV sets’ at the Consumer Electronics Show next month.

CES 2014, to be held as ever in Las Vegas (USA), will witness the commercial sets arrive for the first time in the market’s history, with no other companies confirmed as providing similar concepts at the tradeshow.

Which leaves it down to the two current innovators of the smart TV market, with 7 January set to be the date of both competing items being unveiled.

The first to announce their set were LG, who announced the ‘LG 105UB9 105-inch curved 21:9 UHD LED LCD TV’, containing a 5126 x 2160 resolution, ’21:9 CinemaScope aspect ratio’ with curved screen, and the return of ‘LED LCD’ panelling in place of previously-used OLED pixels for screens.

Lee In-kyu, the ‘vice-president and head of TV’ at LG, summarised: “We’re proud to reveal our 105-inch curved Ultra HD TV at the world’s largest technology event. Claiming the world’s first and the world’s largest titles, LG’s 105UB9 employs cutting-edge technology to provide a truly unique viewing experience.”

However, their time in the spotlight was not a long one before it became shared, after Samsung soon after revealed a product of their own with almost identical headlining features, as Samsung’s ‘executive vice-president of visual display business’ H.S. Kim stated: “We are happy to unveil the 105-inch Curved UHD TV, the culmination of Samsung’s advancements, following the world’s first Curved UHD TV at IFA 2013. You will experience a true curved TV optimised for consumer viewing environments at CES 2014.”

Further details of each 105-inch curved set are expected to arrive at their respective CES 2014 events (most likely with high start prices attached), but will whatever is discovered just cause people to think they are copying each other’s notes now?

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Looking to compete directly with Samsung in the newly-developing market, South Korean electronics specialists LG have made further announcements regarding their upcoming ‘LG G Flex’ smartphone, with the current headlining feature of being similar to a ‘portable cinema’.

The product will beat Samsung towards being the honour of being the first-ever ‘OLED curved smartphone’ available within the South Korean market as of its release next Tuesday (19 November), with a new promotional video for the G Flex claiming the curved screen technology in place makes it resemble ‘a mobile IMAX theatre’.

That ‘6-inch OLED display’ boasts ‘Real RGB technology’ made to offer ‘brighter and more precise imagery’, with the handheld device able to be flattened with no resulting damage to the screen or product, whilst also carrying the first-ever application of ‘Self Healing’ on a smartphone, with the back panel coating the technology is applied to able to naturally recover from scratches and overall wear.

Also announced today (11 November) were accessories for the phone, including an ‘additional 16GB USB flash drive’ and numerous protective cases, although the product itself (currently scheduled as South Korea-only but with plans to be expanded on in the ‘near future’) is of course the main focus of LG’s campaign, as demonstrated below:

Meanwhile, a potential new rival in the ‘curved screen smartphone market’ is Apple, who according to reports are creating iPhones featuring ‘larger and curved touchscreens’. A ‘familiar source’ is noted as claiming to Bloomberg that the company have been ‘working on the technology’ alongside ‘enhanced sensors’, in preparation for phones that would be released in ‘late 2014′. Of course, being around a year after the first in a market will undoubtedly add a further hit against Apple’s reputation as technology innovators…

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Previously only venturing into the topic in advert form in a hypothetical manner, Samsung’s development of a curved touchscreen is one which has finally reached a point where the public can see it commercialised.

First revealed in the company’s native South Korea last week, a new commercial for the ‘Samsung Round’ is the first to feature a smartphone product with a curved screen from the company, with the commercial showing off the similarities the screen bears on touch to other ‘curved’ items of everyday life.

Currently exclusive to the South Korean market, the Samsung Round carries a ‘5.7-inch 1080p curved OLED display’ as its leading feature, along with a ‘2.3GHz quad-core processor’, 3GB RAM, dual cameras (13-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front), and Android 4.3 operating system. The main competitor in a newly-created market for curved screens will again be national rivals LG (through their recently-announced ‘G Flex’), so which of the two will emerge on top for the time being? The video promoting Samsung’s cause can be seen below:

In other news, Samsung have announced yet another exclusive device partnership, with America’s primary basketball league the NBA joining the US Military and the UK’s reality singing contest The X Factor amongst those carrying Samsung products as standard.

In an agreement said to be valued at $100m, Samsung will provide courtside technology during all NBA games. Their tablet computers and TV displays will be used in the arenas by officials in order to make judgements on plays, in a move which Samsung claim will benefit the league’s playing and officiating staff and its fans, with other Samsung collaborations planned.

Samsung head of marketing Todd Pendleton summarised: “With this partnership Samsung and the NBA are committed to elevating the future of the game with innovative product and service solutions for the players, coaches, referees and fans. With these new experiences players will be able to take their game to the next level while fans will be able to engage in new ways with their favourite teams and players.”

The markets of cinema and TV sets have latched onto efforts to make ‘3D’ technology popular in recent years, and while a number of industries such as the latter and portable games consoles have made attempts to create it with a ‘glasses-free’ effect, it appears as though smartphones could be in line for a more prominent presence in the near future.

This is mainly due to market leaders Apple reportedly filing a patent for a new iPhone design that would create 3D in a ‘wraparound’ effect.

The design featured in the patent (diagram pictured) is one that would give the new handset a drastic departure from the trademark design usually seen on Apple’s products, with no ‘physical buttons’ in favour of an entire touchscreen presence for controlling aspects such as volume and the menu launch feature.

Though there may be minor buttons featured for aspects such as power, the device would sell itself on being a completely ‘button-free’ experience, with the screen positioned as ‘two AMOLED displays’ layered to form an  ‘illusion of depth’ mimicking ‘a 3D experience’ for the end user.

The patent also notes the changes in shape of the device, recognising the ‘curved surface’ and ’rounded edges’ on both sides of the smartphone, as the patent filing describes: “The majority of portable electronic device manufacturers utilise a common form factor consisting generally of a flat planar form factor with a single surface dedicated mainly for use as a display surface, while the other surfaces remain largely unused, save for the occasional button or switch. Although this form factor lends itself to electronic devices that are aesthetically pleasing and easy to handle… the size of the user interface is generally limited to a portion of the device that takes up less than half of the overall device surface area.”

Alongside the leaked information, rumours now surrounding the iPhone 6 include that it the screen could be built from ‘Corning’s Willow glass’ (also rumoured to be implemented on Apple’s planned ‘iWatch’), and use of a Samsung Youm-style ‘flexible display technology’. If the latter is true, then the South Korean company might be interested on turning the tables a little…