The Future of the Large Screen Phones

When the Dell Streak was first launched, many balked at the idea of a 5″ display size phone, yet it really was the forefront of a new generation of big screen or large screen phones. Samsung has announced the Galaxy Mega, weighing in at 6.3″. Similarly, there’s the Huawei Ascend Mate, and also the new Sony Xperia Z Ultra has a 6.4″ screen.

In terms of hardware specifications, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra runs away (for now) as the clear leader, with one of the fastest processor, waterproof, ultra-slim and armed with a lightweight design. It’s the largest screen by far now. It’s a bigger and much improved version over the original 5″ Xperia Z, with tweaks such as physical buttons so you could take pictures underwater.

“It’s the first smartphone ever to incorporate a Full HD TRILUMINOS Display for mobile powered by Sony’s latest X-Reality for mobile picture engine to deliver the most immersive viewing experience imaginable.”

The Xperia Z Ultra will launch globally from Q3 2013 (exact timing of availability will be released later).

Otherwise, the Galaxy Mega is a good alternative, with decent specifications, more than enough for media content, and yet also priced significantly cheaper. The competitor to the Z Ultra would likely be the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, rumoured to also be equipped with an Exynos 5 or Snapdragon 800 processor, and trumps the Xperia Z Ultra with a whopping 3GB of RAM. However, display size is slightly smaller at 5.9″.

Usage patterns are also probably changing. First, it started with the smart phone, and evolved to using it in conjunction with a tablet. Now that the lines between phone and tablet are blurred, the trend could be moving back towards a singular device. In addition, perhaps since we tend to use our phone more as a smart device, apps, mobile access etc, the necessary phone features such as voice and SMS could just be dumb-ed down. Perhaps, that’s where the direction is heading towards, with other lifestyle products incorporating such features, your iWatch, Google Glasses, for those essential communication to replace your phone, and for other mobility on the go usage, you would then refer to your mega-sized phones or tablets.

I used to upgrade my computer, PC, every other year. But with less usage of the PC, or at least with less desktop gaming and more mobile gaming, that money has now been dedicated towards getting a new phone every year instead.