The 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega: The latest smartphone from Samsung

The latest model in the Samsung Galaxy smartphone series has just been unveiled. With a 6.3-inch screen, equivalent to 16 centimeters, this is the biggest smartphone that would soon be available in the market. The company is saying that this is the ideal size for running two apps side by side or for enhanced viewing when watching videos.

Samsung contributed much to the popularity of the “phablet,” a combination of phone and tablet when Galaxy Note, released in 2001, came out with a 5.3-inch screen. The popularity of the large-screened smartphones caught on and other manufacturers came up with their own. However, with the latest dimension of the Galaxy Mega, some analysts think that it might be too much and could prove cumbersome. Samsung is covering the market, with a smaller version of their latest smartphone, with a 5.8-inch screen.

Global launch

Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Galaxy Mega 5.8 are expected to have their global launch by May 2013. The first markets to have these latest smartphones from Samsung are Europe and Russia. Samsung CEO JK Shin said that his company is cognizant of the huge potential in bigger screen smartphones as it combines the functions of a phone and a tablet pc for enhanced web browsing, multitasking and extensive multimedia viewing. Their new product combines both and provides consumers with other choices to fit with their varied lifestyles while giving them the assurance that the high quality features of their Galaxy phone series are maintained.

Galaxy Mega general specs

According to Samsung, the Galaxy Mega combines the power, extensive viewing experience and multitasking capabilities of a tablet and the convenience and portability of a smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Mega is powered by Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is positioned as a handset with a high-definition screen. It is not yet known if the smartphone supports 720p or 1080p resolution HD screens.

Galaxy Mega does not have the S Pen Stylus that comes with Galaxy Note 2. Instead it has S Planner, S Translator, MyFiles and S Memo. General features include a dual core processor, 8 GB internal storage, 1.5 GB RAM, a microSD card slot, 1.9 megapixel front camera and 8 megapixel rear camera. The 6.3 version comes with a 1.7 GHz chip. The clock speed in the 5.8 version is 1.4 GHz. The internal memory of the 6.3 is 8 to 16 GB while the 5.8 has an internal memory of 8GB.

Despite its larger size, Galaxy Mega 6.3 is only 199 grams, with an outside dimension of 167.6 x 88 x 8.0 millimeters. On the other hand the 5.8 weighs 182 grams and measures 162.6 x 82.4 x 9.0 millimeters. Both come with standard battery – Li-ion 3,200 mAh for the 6.3 and Li-ion 2,600 mAh for the 5.8.

Market Share

According to the IDC analysts, Samsung was ranked first in 2012 as the most popular maker of smartphone, garnering a total of 30.3% market share compared to Apple, which only got a 19.1% share of the smartphone market.