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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