Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3 Giant Android Handsets Land in India: Is Bigger Not Always Better?

Samsung has officially launched its two massive screen phones in India today - the Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Galaxy Mega 5.8 a while ago. With the new Galaxy family, the South Korean company has made an attempt to add yet another interesting devices to the Android offerings in the market.

Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Galaxy Mega 5.8 - Price and Availability

India is officially the first few countries to get a first glance of these new devices. The first device with the dual SIM support - the 5.8 inch display fonblet has already been listed in the Samsung official eStore at the price of Rs. 24,500 for pre booking. On the other hand, the 6.3 inch device has been officially announced at a price tag of Rs 31,490.

The latter one is not listed so far on any online retailer's site, however, Samsung has confirmed that it will land on the Indian market shelves, sometime around mid-June, estimated date June 10. As far as Galaxy Mega 5.8 availability is concerned, it will hit the retail stores next week.

Galaxy Mega 5.8 - Specifications

To elaborate on the specs the device has a dual SIM support with a qHD resolution. Then of course, as the name suggests Mega 5.8 comes with the 5.8 TFT capacitive touchscreen that gives a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels and 190 PPI pixel density.

Further, the device is flavored by Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS with Samsung's TouchWiz and powered by 1.4GHz dual-core processor along with 1.5GB RAM. It houses an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash to record 1080p HD videos along with 1.9 megapixel front-facing shooter to make video calls. The internal memory of the phone is 8GB onboard storage and it is accompanied by microSD card slot to accept up to 64GB storage expansion.

Connectivity factors of the phone include micro USB 2.0, 802.11 Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and it has a massive battery of 2,600mAH battery. As far as other, features are concerned, just like Samsung Galaxy S4, the new Mega series device will come pre-installed with a set of Samsung Smart apps - S Voice 2.0, S Travel, Story Album, S Translator, Multi Window, Pop Up Play, Samsung ChatON, Samsung WatchON, Samsung Link and more.

Mega 6.3: How Is It Different From Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8?

Well, the only difference is the 6.3-inch TFT HD display where it is supported by 1280 by 720 pixels, then there is a slight variation in the processor speed, as Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is powered by Dual-Core Cortex A-15 processor clocked at 1.7GHz. The Android version, RAM, camera and connectivity features are same. However, the internal storage in Mega 6.3 is more, that is; 16GB onboard memory with the same microSD card slot and the device is also equipped with NFC. Further, the battery is also more powerful at 3,200mAh battery.

Moreover, Galaxy Mega 6.3 will support some features which were exclusive to Galaxy S4 till now, including Air View gesture and also Group Play, with which, users can connect their Galaxy Mega 6.8 phone to Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Grand smartphone.

What More?

At the event, Samsung India also informed that the company has also join hands with RCOM and Vodafone to come along with an introductory offer for Galaxy Mega handsets launch in India. As per the offer, RCOM customers will be availed 2GB of data per month free for a period of 3 months as well as unlimited access to Big flicks, WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook.

On the other hand, Vodafone customers will be offered 2GB of data per month free for 2 months, on the purchase of any of the two phones.

Is Bigger Not Always Better?

Bigger is always better, they say and Samsung has announced the launch of its latest fonblets with the same strategy boasting gigantic screen sizes, delivering more screen real estate than any other global manufacturer could offer in the market at the prices announced.

The company has further claimed in its press release that the new Galaxy devices combines the portability and convenience of a smartphone with the power, multitasking capabilities and extensive viewing experience of a tablet.

But wait, are the new handsets really portable? With its large screen size, what do you think would be the weight of the fonblets? Well, Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 holds a weight of 182 gram while Mega 6.3 weighs at 199 grams, which is quite heavy when compared to Galaxy S4's 133 gram, however similar to Note 2's 182 gram in the market.

So what did Samsung actually have in mind? On this Vineet Taneja, head of Samsung's mobile division in India has pointed in the press release, "Consumers in India are preferring the larger screen displays in their smartphones owing to the time they spend doing more with their devices," and with new Mega 5.8 and 6.3 inch handsets, "Galaxy Mega meet the varying lifestyles of our consumers."

Basically, its the company's attempt to provide these consumers with a greater display user experience, although it did sacrifice some portability in favor of a sharing-friendly gigantic screen. What do you have to say on this? Share your opinions in the comment section below.