Samsung has unveiled two new smartphones that push the envelope of screen size in the smartphone space.
One of the big-framed phones features a 5.8-inch screen, while the other comes in at 6.3 inches. But they may not be coming to a carrier near you anytime soon.
On the left is the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, and on the right, the Galaxy Mega 5.8 (Click Image To Enlarge)
Dubbed Mega, the two devices Samsung showed off today come with the customer's choice of a 5.8-inch screen or a 6.3-inch option. Both devices come with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and a dual-core processor. The higher-end 6.3-inch option comes with a 1.7GHz processor, while the 5.8-inch version has a 1.4GHz chip. Both handsets have 8-megapixel rear-facing cameras and 1.9-megapixel front-facing cameras.
Samsung's Mega 6.3 handset will deliver 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, with up to 64GB of capacity with the microSD slot. The smaller option comes with 8GB of storage.
Rumors had surfaced earlier this week that Samsung was planning to launch new handsets that would boast ultra-large screens. Samsung at that time declined to comment on whether it was planning to launch such devices.
Although Samsung boasts about the Mega's thin design and software features, the real impact the devices will have is in the evaluation of screen sizes. To put their sizes into perspective, Apple's iPhone comes with a 4-inch screen. The latest Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 5-inch display.
On March 15, 2013, Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy S4 smartphone with a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 Super AMOLED display. The Galaxy S4 will be available between April and June 2013. See my blog post dated March 15, 2013 (Click Image To Enlarge)
But before you get too excited about the Megas, be aware that for now, Samsung is only promising that they will be made available in Europe and Russia starting this May. The company said that their availability will vary by market and they will be rolled out gradually over time.
COMMENTARY: I like the idea of a 5.8-inch or 6.3-inch display on a smartphone. In my opinion more is better. Samsung began the bigger display trend, and it has caught on like wildfire, vaulting Samsung ahead of Apple in smartphones (with the exception of Q4 2012, when Apple launched the iPhone 5.
Courtesy of an article dated April 11, 2013 appearing in C|NET
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