Samsung phone's 'edge' not just a gimmick

I'm not a big fan of hype or gimmicks, and I've been hearing a lot of both surrounding this week's product.

I've been testing out the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus smartphone through AT&T, one of the phone's carriers. The S6 Edge Plus is different from the S6 Edge, which is different from the S6.

Confusing, isn't it?

The S6 Edge Plus is actually more of a "phablet," a term used to describe smart devices that are bigger than standard cellphones but smaller than tablet computers. A close comparison would be the Apple iPhone 6s Plus, the largest of the smartphones Apple recently introduced.

This device, however, has an edge over the iPhone. Literally.

The S6 Edge Plus actually utilizes the edge of the smartphone's screen to perform tasks such as displaying new text messages, scrolling news headlines and even serving as a night clock.

At first, my reaction was simply, "I don't get it." I really didn't understand the big deal about the edge thing. Frankly, it screamed "gimmick" to me.

The more I used it, however, the more potential I could see, and the more impressed I became.

First, let's talk about the phone itself. It's big, with a 5.7-inch display screen that wraps around the sides of the device. The size may be fine for some, but as I've said many times before, I have small hands. To me, the S6 Edge Plus was too bulky and hard to hold. I was unable to wrap my fingers around it properly. It made me nervous about dropping it.

The good side to that is the screen. It's huge compared to most smartphones, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Colors are bright, edges and text are crisp, and they stay that way even when the screen dims in low light.

The new cameras on the S6 Edge Plus are very impressive. With 5 megapixels on the front camera and 16 megapixels on the back, it's easy to capture great images, even in low light or close up. Though the camera did lean slightly toward blue, overall the colors were close to realistic and very bright.

A huge thumbs-up goes to the speed. The S6 Edge Plus doesn't hesitate on any task. Applications, Web pages and just about anything else open and function quickly on this phone. It's noticeable compared to the S6 and a huge upgrade from the S5 and S5 Active.

Then, of course, there's the "edge thing."

The screen on the S6 Edge Plus doesn't lie flat like most other smartphones. It bends on the right and left sides. Those edges possess separate functions, and there are many options to those functions. For example, the phone lets you choose whether the left or the right edge should be active. It lets you decide which applications can utilize the edge features, and it even lets you provide quick access to your favorite apps or people. The trick is figuring out how to get it to work, and admittedly, it took me a day and a quick Google search to figure out exactly how it works.

Once the Edge options are set in Settings, you have to rub your finger along the designated edge while the phone is in sleep mode. It pops up the clock, then allows you to scroll through the one-line messages that can be displayed on the edge. For example, I scrolled up once and was able to read a text message that arrived. I scrolled up again and got a set of news headlines, which scrolled along the edge. I also was able to scroll and see the sender of a recently received email. Tapping the sender's name opened the email.

If there's a downside to the S6 Edge Plus, it might be the battery, but only if you compare apples to oranges. That beautiful screen really takes a toll with heavy game or video use. It's much better with light to moderate use.

I had one day where I barely used the phone, leaving it off or asleep most of the time, and on Wi-Fi. The heaviest task was a few minutes of audio streaming on Spotify and some Web surfing. It was down to half-battery power by the end of 12 hours. That's actually not too bad, but it means it would need another charge sometime the next morning.

By contrast, I could go nearly two full days on the S5 Active with moderate to heavy use. However, the S5 is a smaller phone with a smaller, less bright, lower-resolution screen. As I said, it's like comparing apples to oranges. It's more accurate to compare it to something like the iPhone 6s Plus, in which case it's pretty much on par battery-wise. Bottom line, over time it may need recharging before the end of the day, but it should get you through the day with standard use (email, some Internet use, Wi-Fi access).

The good news is, the S6 Edge Plus charges quickly -- very quickly. I charged it from about 15 percent to 100 percent in less than an hour and a half. It's also capable of wireless charging using a special adapter, but since I lacked the adapter, I was unable to test this feature.

The edge thing on the S6 Edge Plus definitely helps this phone to stand out. Is it a gimmick? Yes, but a fun and sometimes useful one. Would I run to AT&T to upgrade from my plain old S6? No. It would be worth upgrading from an S5, though.

The S6 Edge Plus is a sturdy, speedy phone with a gorgeous screen and impressive camera -- and that edge thing.

Now, I get it.

Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at mljones72@me.com.

SundayMonday Business on 10/19/2015