Samsung has unveiled the biggest smartphone to date - the Galaxy Mega,
which features a 6.3in (16cm) screen.
The firm suggested its size made it ideal for watching videos or
running two apps alongside each other.
Samsung helped popularise the so-called "phablet" category -
in which phones approach tablet dimensions - with its original 5.3in Galaxy
Note in 2011.
That proved more popular than many expected, but one analyst suggested
the latest device might be a step too far.
Samsung is marketing
the Android-powered handset as having a high-definition screen - however, a
spokesman was unable to confirm whether it supported 720p or the "full
HD" 1080p resolution.
Another South Korean firm, Pantech, currently lays claim to offering
the biggest "full HD" smartphone with its 5.9in
Vega No 6 which was announced in January.
China's Huawei had previously boasted having the biggest
largest-screened 720p smartphone with its 6.1in Ascend Mate.
Samsung also makes the Galaxy Note 8.0. Some versions of this
8in-screened device feature an HSPA+ radio allowing them to make calls, but the
machine is being promoted as a tablet with phone functionality rather than the
other way round.
'Too cumbersome'
Samsung suggested that, despite its dimensions, the Galaxy Mega was
still small and light enough - at 199g (0.44lb) - to fit into users' pockets
and be used with one hand.
However, the firm is hedging its bets by offering a smaller
5.8in-screened version as an alternative.
Both will go on sale in May, with Europe and Russia the first regions
to be offered the devices.
Tech consultancy Davies Murphy Group said that within the Android
market there had been a notable shift towards people wanting to buy a single
device rather than both a smartphone and tablet.
However, its principal technology analyst, Chris Green, suggested that
at 6.3in it would be a "folly" for most users to swap their current
handsets for the larger of the two Galaxy Megas.
"There is genuine demand for larger smartphones - the problem is
at what point does a smartphone turn into a tablet," he told the BBC.
"When you've got this up against your head you'd have to argue
you're using a tablet and not a smartphone - it's definitely going to
compromise its functionality because it's simply too big and too cumbersome to
use as a traditional telephone device.
"But ignoring the phone functionality, as far as the rest of the
smart device goes it looks quite phenomenal."
Samsung was the most popular smartphone maker in 2012 accounting for
30.3% of all shipments, according to
analysts at IDC.
Its rival Apple - whose largest handset has a 4in screen - came in
second with a 19.1% market share.
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