Kuala Lumpur, 7 January – Why is a mobile phone called a handset? I suppose it is probably because the phone is a gadget being held in hand most of the time. When such a mobile device takes up about two hours of every one of us on average per day, we depend on it more and more in whiling away our fragmented time. A smart phone is no longer a means of communication, but an inseparable companion in our daily life. Instead of being satisfied with owning one, we somehow began to look for how it feels in hand. Then, when deciding if a smart phone is satisfactory, we naturally focus on the feel, just like a must rather than an extra. After all, unlike the performance data that every manufacturer may try to upgrade at any time, the feel is something rather subjective and, intuitively, tickles the fancy of people.
Back in 2010, consumers believed the 3.5-inch screen that can be held single-handed best met their expectations of how it feels in hand. Five years later, the ever-larger screens are approaching the limit of single-hand operation, with 5- and 5.5-inch screens overwhelming the market. So, consumers’ expectations regarding the size of screen change with the times.
Yet, however technologies may evolve, all of them should be centered around the consumers. At the moment, most smart phone manufactures follow the trend of large screen with either straight or round aesthetic pursuit, but they may not necessarily meet the true expectations of smart phone users. Outer appearance and the feel in hand may not definitely contradict each other, but when they need to make a compromise, the consumers will never be satisfied with only one choice available. In fact, ergonomically, the use of all tools should be best suited to the natural shape of our body. For instance, for tools used by hand like the smart phones we hold in hand for up to two hours a day, we should first consider ergonomic design to offer a more comfortable experience. Regarding how it feels in hand, the design of smart phones should be suited to our palms as much as possible rather than vice versa.
Generally, when the palm touches the phone, the first or second feel would concern the cohesion while the most note-worthy factor of it is the transition from the back to the sides. So far as this is concerned, not many smart phone producers have really undertaken the pursuit of the feel in the interests of consumers and have eventually succeeded. From iPhone 4 to iPhone 5s as legend of the industry, the rim treatment does not really feature smoothness. With 8 or 4 sharp right angles held in hand, they all cut the hands of Apple fans. Finally, the iPhone 6 arrived, the distinct rims changed into the shape of arc, which not only gives a touch of softness visually, but a sense of comfort in hand. Obviously, the feel in hand has finally been listed on Apple’s agenda. Meanwhile, competitor Samsung S6 also features smooth rims that fit perfectly in hand and Meizu MX5, which has been known for valuing the feel in hand, continued its previous design of the arc for rims. Besides, OnePlus and Motorola also focus on contour of smart phones, which is a typical example of considering the feel in hand.
Regarding the experience of how it feels in hand, apart from the comfortable curve, another most direct feel is none other than the texture of back of phones. Otherwise, OnePlus 2 would not have offered an array of tailored backs at will, touching off a wave of smart phones as a lifestyle among the young trend followers. OnePlus 2 offers a gritty feel of sandstone dark color, retains the texture of Moso Bamboo with natural gloss of bamboo, and inspires the effect of ink painting with black apricot, apart from the century-old African Mahogany and geometric aesthetic-filled Kevlar. Merely by listening to these names, one could almost smell their close-to-nature texture and fragrance, with each attracting its own group of people through unique qualities. Under the trend of Apple-led mainstream manufacturers, refraining from the common practice of making all-metal body can be called innovative but better still, creative, from the bottom of heart. Besides OnePlus, both Samsung Notes 3 and Huawei P7 can be called unique in design for the leather-quality back and the 7 galvanized layers respectively.
While the newly-unveiled Flash 2 even came with a slogan “Perfect In Hand.”, claiming they have attained the best possible for how the phone feels in hand.
True, Flash 2 is a model that offers instantly a perfect feel in hand and remarkable workmanship. The 147-gram weight does not really feel like something weighty at all; rather it gives a sense of being sturdy and the arc in the back as transition to the rims feels great when the phone is being held in hand — comparable to the natural ease of an infant settling in mummy’s arms. The delicate rims give a comfortable sense to the fingers with noticeable treatment for smoothness in design, without being so slippery as for a phone to fall out of a user’s hand. Unlike those smart phones giving considerations to the back’s curve at the expense of battery capacity, this model of Flash not only looks thin in its curve design of the back, but also offers a perfect feel in hand while maintains the 3,000 mah battery capacity. It can be said Flash 2 has found the golden curve as integration of sensational and rational considerations. Regarding texture of the back in case of direct contact of phone and palm, Flash 2 appears rather elegant for its volcanic ash color. The back of the phone feels delicate and soft with a touch of velvet-like gritty texture slowly permeating into the palm, which makes it too much of a fondling to put down.
In fact, Flash 2 is as young and handsome as its product manager. When you meet Eric, Product Manager of the Flash Team in charge of the R&D of Flash 2, perhaps you will come to understand the brand feature. The cool 25-year-old best signifies the brand — fashionable and full of energy. Eric said all their team members are young people about his age. When asked “Do you believe the consumers are really concerned about how the phones feel in hand?”, “Absolutely,” he thus reaffirmed, not without a sense of pride, explaining earnestly the origin of “Perfect In hand.” of Flash 2.
In fact, during the initial stage of R&D of Flash 2, some team member had already asked: with such ever-evolving technologies as screen size and runtime, why the feel in had is invariably compromised? Why can’t we come up with a “perfect-in-hand” phone? Romantic as the beginning of the story appeared, such a proposal was not immediately welcomed by all the team members, but fortunately not really discarded. Thus, the young team started the R&D journey of Flash 2 with great determination as well as a little doubt. “Earlier, our idea was just about starting from the draft and then making repeated improvements. This is because there exist differences among the hands of people and even for the same person, the left hand is not necessary the same as the right one regarding the feature. So even the slightest differences may substantially affect the details of design, resulting in big differences in users’ experience,” said Eric. During the R&D of Flash 2, almost 1,000 hands have been involved in the testing stage, just like the pilgrims pushing forward. As adjustment of the feel in hand resembles tailoring to one’s measure, it takes not only courage but also great patience to arrive at the curve that best fits into the hand. It is during the countless times of tests that their previous ethos of making a “Perfect In hand.” smart phone has gradually taken shape.
“We don’t want to follow blindly the market trend. Our design will take into consideration more factors. We are concerned with the market response, but we would like to provide consumers with more humanized and more individualized smart phones,” Eric told us, “In choosing the material for the back of Flash 2, we are looking for a sturdy, comfortable and warm feel to offer consumers the sense of ease and pleasure. Eventually, we decided on the fluff paint, which meets in every aspect our requirements of the texture of the back. It offers a sense of stateliness as well as a unique touch of softness while being wearable and when there is sweat in the hand, there will not be sticky fingerprints left on the phone.”
Flash 2 has also a considerate design of quick shutter button, down in the right bottom. This means when there is a fleeting moment, you can take out the phone and keep pressing the button and without the time of visual search or the need of changing position of the finger, the shooting can be done within 2-3 seconds.
In fact, no manufacturer can remain the only industry leader for years to come. Given the fierce competition of manufacturers in terms of pixel, runtime, and system, etc., the only thing that won’t be easily changed is putting your heart into the design. The slogan “Perfect In Hand.” is not only a summary of the feel in hand of Flash 2, but also the source of confidence of the youthful team for the future of Alcatel Flash.
