Sometimes I despair, I really do. Just when you think that the madness has come to some sort of logical end, someone proves you wrong. Samsung did that rather emphatically when it announced a pair of Galaxy Mega handsets that take what the company did with the Note and Note II and then, well, make it bigger.
The Galaxy Mega handsets, for those that have managed to avoid these abominations, are Samsung’s new super large handsets that dwarf even the already mahoosive Note II. That oversized phone weighs in with a considerable 5.5-inch screen, which might seem large. That’s because it undoubtedly is, but someone at Samsung obviously deemed that to not be quite large enough, and instead set about making something larger. Twice.
The first Mega packs a 5.8-inch display, so 0.3-inches larger than Samsung’s current largest phone. That’s not inconsiderable, but there’s more. More screen, at least. See, Samsung’s other Mega handset’s screen is even larger at 6.3-inches. Let me put that another way. It’s BIG. Whether it’s too big will depend on what you want it for, and how big your hands are, but I’d argue it’s just the wrong side of too big by about two inches!
The company’s own flagship device, the Galaxy S4 sits at a reasonable 5-inches. Not small by any stretch of the imagination, the Galaxy S4 is still a whole inch larger than the other big player in the smartphone market – Apple’s iPhone 5. Is the iPhone too small? Is the Mega just ridiculously oversized? Is the Galaxy S4 just right? Take a look at this image and see how the 6.3-inch Mega compares to the iPhone 5:
Horribly massive isn’t it?
Beyond the horrendous Goldilocks metaphor, it’s a question that’s worth asking. In fact, it’s potentially a question that will get answered when all three (well, four if we’re counting both Megas) are on sale and customers vote with their wallets. The iPhone will always sell because, well, it’s an iPhone. The Galaxy S4 will always sell because it’s arguably going to be the best Android phone around if you’re shopping at the premium end of the market. The Mega? Well, the smaller model’s just close enough to a Note II to be mildly redundant, and its big brother is potentially just too big for anyone to take too seriously. In a world where carriers and manufacturers seem convinced that bigger is better, will customers agree when faced with a phone that’s almost as large as a small tablet?
Beyond the inevitable phablet commentary here, I just don’t see where the Mega fits into a market that’s already crowded, unless that’s the whole point: differentiation.
And Samsung’s certainly managed that with the Galaxy Mega. Different is just one of the words I’d use to describe it!
(Source: Twitter)
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