Samsung Galaxy Mega hits the United States (a 6.3-inch eReader?)

[frahse]

Some time ago, people spoke of their iPhone (3.5" screen) being their eReader. Well, that might work ok, but a 6.3" screen definitely gives you a bigger page.

Samsung's supersized Galaxy Mega smartphone will finally roll out to U.S. consumers starting this month.

The 6.3-inch phone will be offered in the U.S. by AT&T, Sprint, and US Cellular, Samsung revealed Monday. The actual launch dates will vary among the three. [...]

The Galaxy Mega's huge screen offers an HD Super Clear display with a resolution of 1,280x720 pixels. Equipped with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, the phone has a dual-core 1.7GHz processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. Users can expand the capacity to 64GB with an external microSD card. An 8-megapixel camera graces the rear.

read on: Cnet

[Ripplinger]

Two main reasons it will never replace an e-ink reader for me, and I think for most people who read a a lot... not being able to read outdoors and battery life.

[OtterBooks]

That there is a big phone.

[Ravensknight]

I say there, is that a Samsung Galaxy MEGA in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

That there is a big phone.

Just today, someone asked if my new Nexus 7 tablet was a phone, LOL! I guess people are getting used to the idea of the large phone.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Two main reasons it will never replace an e-ink reader for me, and I think for most people who read a a lot... not being able to read outdoors and battery life.

Depends on the battery life you want. ZeroLemon has made a replacement battery for the Note II with 3 times the life of the original. One user claimed to get 40 hours of watching Netflix before the battery ran out. I can't imagine ereading would cause as much drain. Of course it still doesn't match the 2 weeks other users claim for eInk devices.

Personally I have no problem carrying extra batteries so I can get a full day's use. Of course I never stay overnight where there's no power (e.g. camping) so all I need is a couple of chargers & I'm good for 'forever'.

[SeaKing]

I carry an inverter as well as chargers for phone and lighter hole when I am on a trip.

Heck I have jump boxes most of the time.

I have a solar flashlight that will also charge.

The only thing I am missing is a hand crank generator.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

The only thing I am missing is a hand crank generator.

I used to work for a man who had a hand crank generator

[forsooth]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I used to work for a man who had a hand crank generator

for peanuts-
little monkey pour water on waterwheel
waterwheel turn electric turbine
electric turbine light up city
charge phone!

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I used to work for a man who had a hand crank generator

I have an emergency radio with 4 power modes: solar, battery, AC, and hand crank. I've used it to recharge regular batteries, maybe one of these days I'll build some leads to recharge other types. Or maybe not. It might be interesting but of little use for me-I pretty much stay where I have power, at least at night.

[mycurlylocks]

I refuse to hold a tablet to the side of my head to make calls. I thought a 4" screen was large enough on a phone. I want to be able to comfortably hold my phone in one hand.

I wonder how well this will sell?

[jersysman]

Well, it would force me to get a bag of some sort just to carry a phone. This would be a little too big for me, but I am sure that it will sell. There are those that always want to have the biggest.

[supermighty]

I want the largest phone I can comfortably carry in my pocket. My Nexus 7 is too big. It might be OK without the bezel. But I think the real sweet spot would be 6.3" or so.

I have a Note II right now, and at 5.5" it seems small in my hands.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Two main reasons it will never replace an e-ink reader for me, and I think for most people who read a a lot... not being able to read outdoors and battery life.

I don't have a Mega, but recently bought a Note 2. I am a stickler for battery life - it's the reason I switched from Android to iOS two years ago. The Note 2 gets better battery life than my previous phone, an iPhone 4, or my work phone, an iPhone 5. I'd be curious to see what the battery life on the Mega is.

And the outdoors thing is a bummer. That's why I just bought a Nook Simple Touch for $40 to carry at the beach.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

I refuse to hold a tablet to the side of my head to make calls. I thought a 4" screen was large enough on a phone. I want to be able to comfortably hold my phone in one hand.

I wonder how well this will sell?

On a recent trip to SE Asia I was quite surprised at the amount of large phones I was seeing all over the place. Most of those phones were Samsung, the earlier Mega model (a bit smaller, less powerful and goes by a different name). There seems to be a market to tap into, maybe not so much in the US, but other parts of the world are very receptive to this kind of device - large screen, and reasonable if albeit a year old specs (CPU, memory, screen resolution).