 And it will be big, apparently.
Over six inches to be precise – hard to imagine since we already have trouble fitting a 4.99″ Galaxy S 3 phone into most pockets snugly – not to mind a ‘phablet’ (phone and tablet), said to be called ‘Galaxy Mega.’ “Samsung Electronics will launch a 6.3 inch phablet, a smartphone that doubles as a smart pad, as early as June,” reports Korea’s IT News. Samsung, as one of the pioneers of the phablet with the popular Galaxy Note and Note II, is on a quest to merge the tablet and smartphone into one complete mobile unit, called ‘Project Mobius’.
Samsung Galaxy Note’s have already sold well and an 8 incher is hitting Oz this month for $459. Samsung said 2013 would be a big year for the brand and is also planning to release new phones on its in-house Tizen operating system, possibly to lessen dependence on Google Android OS – even at the high end. Next week it will unveil its ‘hero’ Android Galaxy S4 a slightly larger 5 inch HD screen in Oz, confirming the industry trend that points towards bigger screens on smartphones. HTC, LG have are both opting for larger displays, while tablet displays are getting smaller – think iPad Mini, Samsung Tab 7.0, Google Nexus 7 – so it makes sense to merge the two into a compact size. Samsung 6.3″ Mega phablet is tipped to have dual core Exynos processor, a 2MP front full-HD camera and an 8MP AF camera back. Other devices Samsung has up its sleeve include a high end Tizen phone set to be released in August or September and will be “equipped with the best specifications,” a company exec told Bloomberg earlier this year. The smartphone king predicted a slow down in demand this year in the wake of intensive competition and a “slew” of new devices from rivals Sony, LG and Huawei. “In the first quarter, demand for smartphones in developed countries is expected to decelerate,” Samsung said earlier this year, but expects demand to rise in emerging economies. Samsung smartphone grew a whopping 85% selling 64.5 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2012, and may have sold even more in Q1 2013. |
