Samsung intros Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3 phones, coming next month

Matthew DeCarlo

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Confirming previous rumors, Samsung has announced its largest smartphones to date, the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3. With the latter spanning nearly an inch larger than the company's 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2, the oversized touch devices straddle the line between being smartphones and tablets -- phablets if you can stomach the term.

Despite their grandiose stature, both are outfitted with midrange hardware that seems to be a notch below the higher-end Galaxy S and Note products. The 5.8-incher is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and a 960x540 display, while the 6.8-inch model boosts that to 1.7GHz and an "HD" display -- presumably 720p.

samsung galaxy mega

The smaller Galaxy Mega also comes with less storage options, offering only 8GB of internal flash memory, whereas the larger version will be sold with 8GB or 16GB. The only remaining detail separating the devices appears to be their mobile network options: the Mega 5.8 is HSPA-only while the 6.3 supports LTE and HSPA.

Shared specifications include 1.5GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a microSD slot that supports up to 64GB cards, IR blasters for controlling televisions and the latest build of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It should also come as no surprise that both will have many (all?) of the new software features unveiled with the Galaxy S4.

samsung galaxy mega

Pricing is unknown and availability is still a little hazy. Given their hardware, it seems reasonable to expect the Galaxy Mega devices to cost less than Samsung's Galaxy S4 and Note 2, and the company has so far announced that the jumbo-sized handsets will launch sometime next month in Europe with other regions to follow.

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This is just an experiment to see if the big screen sells over the specs. Don't get too worried everyone.
 
Personally I my self never use phone for calling I rather use it to text and facebook and gps and well most of other things smart phone can offer. And jeans or jacket would fit that size of phone no problem so yeah personally I would prob like that big phone. (s3 owner)
 
Looks silly to me too, but that's what we said about the Note when it came out and it's been selling. I'd say this is for women because they can put it in a purse, and for men who feel the need to 'compensate' for something.
 
What's the purpose of this if they don't fit in my pockets?
It is aimed at other markets than North America or Europe, it is going to satisfy a consumer who does not want to have a tablet and a premium smartphone.
 
I could see this being somewhat of a success if it had a 1080P screen and better overall specs. Also this isnt that much bigger than the Note 2 if you think about it. 5.5 inch vs 6.3, yeah the 6.3 may be a bit bigger in dimensions. But it also may have a screen expanding out to the edges and just a minor dimension increase.
 
These will be good for my parents... big screen but not a tablet yet. time to replace their iphone
I want one! make it two
 
For people who don't put phones in their pockets?

Who likes to carry a 6inch brick around in his hands? If you even can put your hands around that thing.
Unless it's a she with a purse.
Either way, I predict the target market for these products will be a minority of people compared to anything currently on the market, be it tablets or smartphones.
 
If they're gonna be cheaper that the S4 then I can see them selling like hotcakes. I personally wouldn't buy one but if I got it for nothing...
 
I'm not judging... I've seen people who do.

Ya, I know.
Actually I'm the kind of guy who sold his PSP back in the days because I found that carrying around the PSP+my phone around wasn't worth it. And it's not like I could not take my phone with me, so I usually left the PSP at home.
But yea, everyone is different.
 
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