Samsung Working on 7-inch Galaxy Mega Phone
Chinese electronics certification website TENAA reveals that Samsung has submitted a smartphone with a 7-inch screen for approval. Listed as the SM-T2558, there's speculation that it's part of Samsung's Galaxy Mega family, and will likely be named as the Samsung Galaxy Mega 7.0 due to the tablet-sized screen.
According to the specs found on the phone's information page, it has a quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, as well as 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot for adding more space. The device also packs an 8MP camera on the back, and a 2MP camera on the front. The OS of choice is Google's Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean."
Of course, there are no promises that this phablet will reach the United States, but given that the first two devices in the Galaxy Mega series found their way onto American networks, there's a good chance this latest Mega phone will do the same.
Samsung introduced the Galaxy Mega line (pictured above) just over a year ago as phones that "combine the portability and convenience of a smartphone with the power, multitasking capabilities and extensive viewing experience of a tablet." There were two phones at launch: a 6.3-inch model with an HD screen and a 5.8-inch model with a qHD screen.
"We are aware of a great potential in the bigger screen for extensive viewing multimedia, web browsing, and more," said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Business, Samsung Electronics. "We are excited to provide another choice to meet our consumers' varying lifestyles, all while maintaining the high-quality features of the award-winning GALAXY series."
The larger phone of the two has a dual-core processor clocked at 1.7 GHz, an 8MP camera on the back and a 1.9MP camera on the front. Other hardware goodies include 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB or 16 GB of internal storage, Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, a handful of sensors, support for MHL and more.
The smaller 5.8-inch phone has a dual-core processor clocked at 1.4 GHz, an 8MP camera on the back, and a 1.9MP camera on the front. The phone also includes 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB on internal storage, Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, several sensors, and so on. Both phones use Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean" as the out-of-the-box OS.
With these two phones already on the market, a 7-inch Android phone isn't all that far-fetched. Still, is this size overkill? Do we really need a smartphone that's as big as a picture frame? Apparently, Samsung thinks there's a market for such a device. Yet having conversations with mom on a 7-inch tablet may be a little awkward.
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Also, I'll be getting my Nexus 7 next week. I got it for 160€ with shipping, brand new. It's a more powerful machine than this, and with the money I've saved, I can buy an actual phone, for 100€ or more (depending on how much they're planning to rob they're clients with this humongous beast). I don't blame people who buy this, but it's not even remotely a good deal.
It's not a matter of it it fits, it's a matter of if it's usable.
Most people don't know how to or want to hack their phone, like me, and don't want to deal with the instability of CM. I used CM some but there are just too many problems for devices that aren't their priority devices like a nexus or gs4. This phone/tablet won't sell enough to get official CM support so someone will just half heartedly port it and problems will arise. Even if it did get good CM support you shouldn't need to hack your brand new device to get it on a somewhat recent operating system.
Only problem I can see is where to put it when you're wearing your tux? Of course I'm not likely to invited to the White House in the near future.
Remember there are huge markets outside of the US with less discretionary income.
The larger form allows for larger batteries as well.
And I'd say people's priorities is to get the biggest ass phone they can afford. Inside and outside the US.
Let me introduce you to probably the best of the current Androids: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z1_compact-5753.php
THIS! It is not so much that we WANT a big 6-7" phone, it is that we don't want a 5" phone plus a laptop. I would much rather have a phone that is slightly too large than a normal phone and a laptop or tablet that I have to keep tabs on because there is no way it will fit in my pocket.
Besides, modern phones with thin bezels don't feel nearly as large as older large phones. They don't weigh a lot, and a 6" device today is much the same size as the 5" devices of a year or two ago.