There was a time when companies tried to make mobile phones as small as they possibly could. This is not that time.
Samsung Electronics, which (literally) pushed the boundaries of the smartphone with its Galaxy Note line, is going where no phone maker has gone before with the plate-sized Galaxy Mega.
The Galaxy Note II sports a 5.5 inch screen. The Mega, making its U.S. debut this month, brings a 6.3 inch screen to the “phablet” party, although you might need custom pockets if you actually want to bring it to a party.
To put the Mega into perspective, the original iPhones had just a 3.5-inch display. The bigger iPhone 5 only has a 4 inch display, and was seen as a major change. It’s been less than three years since Steve Jobs went on a rant about the evils of devices that tried to slip in between the smartphone and tablet.
“No tablet can compete with the mobility of a smartphone, its ease of fitting into your pocket or purse, its unobtrusiveness when used in a crowd,” Mr. Jobs said.
Unobtrusive, the Mega is not – unless you use it to hide your face. It’s 6.5 inches long and 3.5 inches wide. But it builds on the popularity of the Note, which found a niche in the crowded and competitive smartphone market.
For those not quite into the cookie-sheet look, AT&T said Monday it will begin selling the HTC One mini. The smaller version of HTC’s flagship smartphone has a “miniature” 4.3-inch screen, still bigger than the upsized iPhone.
The new devices continue the trend to build a phone for every palm and pocket.
And while handset makers seem to keep pushing the limits with bigger phones, they aren’t likely to match the original 1980s brick phone: the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x with its 13-inch height and unwieldy 28 ounces.
source [[ stream.wsj ]]
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