Is it a smartphone? Is it a tablet? It’s the 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Mega

11 Apr 2013

Samsung Galaxy Mega

Furthering its campaign to dominate just about every screen size imaginable, Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Mega, a 6.3-inch device that supposedly combines the best of the South Korean manufacturer’s smartphones and tablets.

What Samsung promises with the Galaxy Mega is an ‘extensive viewing experience’, which in no doubt relates to its massive 6.3-inch HD LCD, which is enabled for widescreen viewing. The device seems to fit among Samsung’s Note range of ‘phablets’, which range in size from about 5-8 inches, and though the press release swears the device can be used comfortably with one hand and is pocket-friendly, I have my doubts.

At 167.6mm long and 88m across, it’s a sizeable difference to Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone the Galaxy S4 (arriving in Ireland later this month), which measures 136.6mm by 69.8mm, but it is only a hair thicker at 8mm. It’s also close to 70g heavier than the S4 smartphone.

The Mega will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and packed with 1.5GB RAM and a choice of 8GB or 16GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card.

The device will come ready for LTE mobile broadband, and software to extend the life of its 3,200mAh battery through more efficient processor use has been included. Its 8MP rear camera and 1.9MP front-facing camera comes with new photography features to take continuous shots of a moving subject, capture sound along with images, snap sports action and more.

It also comes packed with Samsung’s mobile device technologies, such as split screen for multitasking, as well as new features already coming to the S4, like Air View, which lets a user preview content by hovering with his or her finger.

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8

For pockets that can’t handle the Galaxy Mega (and, really, whose can?), Samsung has also got the Galaxy Mega 5.8, which features a 5.8-inch screen, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 2,600mAh battery and many of the technologies packed into the Mega, but not Air View.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega and Mega 5.8 are expected to be available in Europe and Russia from the beginning of May, with rollout taking place gradually across different markets.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com