“Samsung has finally revealed its latest oversized smartphones, the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3,” Aaron Souppouris reports for The Verge.
“Larger than even Samsung’s enormous 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2, both phones are low- to mid-range in terms of specifications,” Souppouris reports. “The larger Galaxy Mega has a 6.3-inch 720p display, LTE connectivity, 8GB or 16GB of storage, and a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, while the 5.8-inch model has a qHD display, HSPA connectivity, 8GB of storage, and a 1.4GHz dual-core processor.”
Souppouris reports, “Samsung hasn’t detailed exact availability, but says the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3 will launch in Europe next month before gradually expanding to other territories. ”
Read more in the full article here.
Hubert Nguyen writes for UberGizmo, “I have to say that the Galaxy Mega takes things to the next level. This is almost like typing on an iPad mini, except that it is a fully featured phone in a form-factor that is usable in my hand.” “I say it’s not for everyone because there is still a large crowd that wants a one-handed smartphone, or thinks that beyond 5-inch, it’s really ‘too big.'”
Nguyen writes, “The raw performance of this smartphone will be less than the Galaxy S4, and possibly even less than the Galaxy Note 2 — we haven’t had a chance to run any benchmarks since this unit was not the final hardware. What we can say at the moment, is that we don’t expect it to score very high.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We just wrote yesterday about what would happen if Apple made a 5-inch iPhone: “They’d say that a 5-inch display isn’t large enough as Apple continues to pile up quarter after quarter of record-breaking, yet somehow ‘disappointing,’ iPhone sales.”
The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3. For when you’ve got no taste, <a href="http://macdailynews.com/2012/08/06/court-shown-evidence-that-samsung-copied-apples-iphone-icons/" target="_new"no morals or no clue – and no eyesight.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Becaise trolls need phones too…
you damn right we do
Can anyone say gaudy? This excites analysts. Samsucks knows this and knows it won’t be a hit.
Here’s where Samsung is headed:
OMG, Andy In-out-ko is going to be flying to the moon when he sees this.
Great fit for his fat oversized head.
Count in Leo Laporte
Funny, the two biggest mac geeks switch to Android and the fanbois get there panties in a bunch
@ stoicatheist – come up with something new! the fanbois thing is done… you sound like a 12 year old in his moms basement.
–said the fanboi :u)
fanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboifanboi
I suddenly had a brilliant $1,000,000 idea … pants pocket extenders!
I’m cornering the suspenders market!.
Wow! How do I get my hands on one of those? No, seriously, how do you wrap your hands around that? Where do you carry it? What abysmal battery life could it have? So now not only do you have to wedge this somewhere (be creative!), you now must also carry an adapter and cord, too. Nice.
And what happens to the display and resolution specs? How many versions of Android apps does a developer have to manage for Android devices?
“or thinks that beyond 5-inch, it’s really ‘too big.’”
=======================
That’s what she didn’t say.
Jeez, you’re gonna have to have a big head to use one of these.
Should be perfect for BLN! :))
😂
I need an iPhone that is as large as possible, but which comfortably fits in a pocket. It’s funny how Apple analysts — and MDN, face it, you’re an Apple analyst — discuss such matters in terms of Apple’s market placement etc – but fail to focus on the one thing that matters: whether Apple’s users need and/or want such a product. I use my iPhone more as a portable pocket computer, which happens to be a phone, so I need the screen as large as possible within the bounds of fitting in a pants pocket. Let’s get the focus right. It’s all about the customer, or it should be.
You mean the oversized obese, the no clue, or the no class or taste customer?
Get an android.
MM : I’m afraid your intelligent observation pretty much falls on deaf ears around here. Isn’t the iPhone 5 larger than the iPhone 4S? Why yes it is. Don’t consumers want a phone larger than the iPhone 5? Of course they do. Why would Apple have made the iPhone 5 larger? Because people wanted it and when it was produced they bought it. I don’t know what excuse these fools will come up with once Apple starts making the larger iPhone? But they’ll rationalize the larger iPhone somehow. They’ll make it fit their incorrect observations now. In other words, spin.
The question of what consumers want or need cannot be answered anecdotally. Following every niche market sounds great, but this does have consequences for user experience and for developers to port their apps to every size factor. Are these insurmountable problems? No, but it does mean that Apple will require time to do any of these correctly.
The iPhone 5 is a good size for me since I can actually access the entire screen in one-handed use (which I was happy with on day 1, long before that commercial came out) and it easily fits in my pockets. That doesn’t mean it is the only correct size or that no one else has other uses that would be better served by a larger or smaller screen.
If there is a real market opportunity that Apple thinks is worth the time to make a well though out device, I’m sure they will do it. I think the crux of the criticism of Samsung of at least some people regards Samsung’s “just keep crapping out new sizes!” approach to “innovation” and that some pundits believe that Apple should make every size to keep up. I’d prefer that Apple do fewer products really well and capture a good share of the market than chasing down every niche. Are Phablets only a niche market? Seems like it to me. But I also doubted the form factor of the iPad mini (based on my experience with the iPad), and that was wrong based on the sales so far.
A larger iPhone has nothing to do with Samsung. Who cares what Samsung makes? If they’re no competition, why would AppleCare? Niche market? Is that why Apple made the iPhone 5 larger than the iPhone 4S? Why is the iPhone 5 larger than me iPhone 4S? Why didn’t they just keep the same form factor as the iPhone 4? I don’t care how many products Apple brings to market. And please, don’t state the obvious that you want a quality product. Hell, we all want a quality product. I was a proponent of the iPad mini while many here made fun of the idea. Yeah, I guess we know how that turned out. It will be exactly the same thing with the larger iPhone. But I do appreciate your attempt at an early spin.
Amazing that appple fails to realize that most people have cash for one device. They want to do everything on it. Apples slide happened because iPhone 5 was totally underwhelming. Too small. No choices except new or old. Who wants that? And the defense of apples lack of choices is so childish. Nobody passed on the iPhone 5 because it was larger, slightly. Consumers want a choice and Samsung is giving them choices. So so sad that apple, slow slow apple just missed the obvious. So my stock suffers. ps 10 minutes adjusting the text with the stupid magnifying glass thing. Small screen much? Anyone at Apple listening? No. That’s all I care about. Saw a mega phone coming from a mile away.
Careful, they’ll throw you under the bus for such intelligent comments around here.
John, editing text in iOS is far better than Androids insertion point on a clunky Android… the president of Samsung also admits this… that Apple has a better OS.
this should solve the pesky problem of having space for your phone in your pocket……
One device can’t be optimized to be everything. Big honking phones are unwieldy, tablets aren’t good phones, phones aren’t good tablets. Get a good tablet and a cheap phone. If you want the best tablet, get an Apple. If you want a cheap phone, don’t forget you can get an cheap Apple phone, it just won’t be the newest model but will do everything well. I don’t care if they make a 6 inch phone, it’ll be a compromised device for everything.
You input is valid and reasonable. In my opinion, there is no real need to differentiate between a cell phone and any other mobile device. Apple and SJ turned cell phones into computers (smart phones). So, why not consider the issue from the opposite viewpoint and consider how mobile computers can also serve as phones and perform other connectivity functions?
I have posted this several times over the years, but it fits with this topic, so I will repeat it again. In the spirit of the ubiquitous mobile device championed by Apple and SJ, I believe that nearly all Apple mobile devices should eventually include full wireless capabilities. Sure, there may be some logical exceptions, such as with the iPod shuffle. But in a general sense, the idea is to stay connected. From that standpoint, an iPad or iPad mini could easily serve as a cell phone when there is need. and it would also be a more useful computer than a phablet when a computer is needed. Rather than deciding for the consumer, make a range of connected mobile devices and let the consumer choose the one or ones that best suit her/his needs.
Samsung unveils BIGGER CRAP!
As Samsung phones get bigger and bigger, they’re quickly nearing the size where all Apple has to do is add a cell radio to the iPad mini …
My thought exactly.
And if the mini’s not big enough, add phone capability to the full-sized iPad!
Brilliant!
Agreed!
Get ‘er done!
It’s the new millennium homage to the shoulder-carried, doofus-launched boombox
Prepare for a blowout release in Texas!!! YEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW!
5.8 inches is “mega” now ??
This is not unexpected. And it’s probably a loss-leader for Samsung. By filling all possible niches of phone size, their hope is to be considered the dominant player in the phone industry – the one with all the choices. They may not be iPhones, but Samsung isn’t losing much money in the phone market, these days. Their strategy so far seems quite successful.
Wow! Not losing much money! That is awesome!
If not losing much money in the phone market defines success, then Samsung is indeed successful.
Unlike Apple, which actually rakes in 75% of profits in the mobile market, with barely 10% of the share (if we count all phones, smart and dumb).
I was understating somewhat. Samsung had over 8 billion in profit last quarter of 2012. Apple has done better with margins, but considering that Samsung is the only major player in the catch-up market for smartphones, I’d say that they have a strategy that has been working well enough for them.
I don’t think they break down their numbers between divisions, and I’m not sure those $8B came from mobile phones alone.
Apple does show numbers for each line of their products, and iPhone profits are quite clear, and not masked by other divisions.
Put a watch band on it and the Samsungphiles can think they have an early version of the iWatch.
What is next ? 7 inch ?
Ughhh…..Mega Fail.
The specs are very modest, these are mostly intended for the market in Asia where people seek for an all-in-one somewhat cheap gizmo that will work as a phone+tablet+computer.
Weren’t there folks around here clamoring for a 6″ iPod touch? So Samsung took one, a mini tab, and added phone capabilities. What’s the big deal?
I would welcome both a 5″ and 6″ iOS device with telephony. And if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t buy it.
And that I think would be the case with very many people (who wouldn’t like it and wouldn’t buy it).
I have no doubt that there are people who would like to have an iPhone that is as big as this Samsung thing, but their numbers are way to small for Apple to consider splintering the streamlined product line for the sake of few thousand people.
That’s what they said about the iPad mini also.
Not quite. There were many indicators showing significant interest in smaller iPad than there are those showing actual interest in large phones. The difference is quite large.
In technology miniaturization is really the badge of honor and brilliance Samsung, haven’t you watched any spy movies?
Great job, Samsung! Flood your product line, so no one has any CLUE which one is which. EPSON is your hero! Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
I can distinguish and identify every product in Apple’s product line. Apple doesn’t need a cheap iPhone…use the 4S…don’t confuse people.
Snicker.
This reminds me of the huge ghetto blasters carried on shoulders back in the 1980’s. Status symbols for the poor.
And the same type of “classy” individual customer who brandished them.
This is classic tech company approach to sales and marketing. Try to get as many different types of product on the market in the hope that you sell more units in total.
The problem is that your margins go down since R&D and production costs are multiplied for each product type. Therefore revenue will go up but profit may actually go down.
That is why Apple chose in 1997 to simplify their Mac product line and have continued to take the same approach with the iPod, iPhone and iPad. And that is why my friends they capture most of the profit in the CE market.
Why don’t they just put a Ghetto Blaster on their shoulders & be done with it. Jeez