The Galaxy Mega with 6.3 Inch Screen

[jacktesterson]

Yeah this guy bought one today. Call me crazy.

SPECS
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_mega_6_3_i9200-5398.php

QUICK UNBOXING - SORRY FOR THE RAMBLING - IT WAS UNPLANNED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtCxKFuG5mA


Haven't seen this massive mid range phone discussed here yet.

I purchased it brand new for $419.99 + Tax unlocked off contract.


Reason for my purchase - I'm a huge guy (6'7, 300 lbs) and have large hands. I also do not like the Idea of separate Tablets and phones - so this fits the category very well.

The Adreno 305 (pretty much identical to Adreno 225 performance) and S4 Pro 1.7 GHz dual core is as fast or faster than the SIII Specs, so its a solid phone for most. Battery life is also very good. The screen, although 720p, is very good and is LCD! (Not OLED, surprising from Samsung). The PPI is still decent. Huge Battery, Note 2 Like battery life, and Removable battery and microSD.

"The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is powered by a Snapdragon 400 chipset, which packs two Krait 200 cores clocked at 1.7GHz, 1.5GB of RAM and Adreno 305 GPU. It doesn't sound as impressive as the Galaxy S4 flagship, but it should be good enough for a 720p phone.
Single-threaded performance is great, close to the Snapdragon 600 high-enders and ahead of older chipsets. It has an advantage over last year's Cortex-A9 based quad-cores."

Couple Quick Benchmarks I ran

 

[AViking]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27aVPqpnL7Y

 

[Phobic9]

Why stop there? The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is even bigger.

 

[jacktesterson]

Why stop there? The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is even bigger.

Because $450 was my max budget I could swing after selling my other phone (HTC One Google Edition)

I use my phone primarily for web browsing, so this is great for me.

I see XDA has created a Forum for the phone, and Root and a few Roms are now available. I hope a decent AOSP rom gets kicking.

 

[bearxor]

Yeah, I mean if you really want just a large phone and a small tablet combined, this is basically the device to get. Specs aren't as good as devices this year, but I think most people would buy this for the screen size as the main driving force.

 

[Red Storm]

I'd go Note 3 personally but I can understand trying to save some money.

 

[jacktesterson]

I'd go Note 3 personally but I can understand trying to save some money.

To be honest the Spec Race is getting kinda silly. Its a lot of marketing fluff.

An S4 Pro Dual Core with 1.5GB of Ram (Faster than last gen CPUs, even faster than the A9 Quads) with Adreno 305 (Equal to last gen top GPUs) and Android 4.2.2 is more than capable for the majority of users today. I don't game on my phone but if I did the 305 can handle pretty much any game out there.

Yes the 1080p screens are nice, I've owned a couple of them, but its not a ground breaking difference over 720p.

The HTML5 performance of this S4 Pro Dual Core is almost identical to the S600 Quad Core phones, because of IPC and not all cores being utilized by Browsers. I'm sure it will change with time

 

[Dari]

Samsung definitely priced it right if that's the regular price. The XZU is over $700. Knowing you, though, you'll probably have a new phone in a couple of weeks.

 

[bearxor]

Yeah, the only thing I wished the Mega 6.3 had was a 1080p screen. I think I'd notice it at that size.

 

[jacktesterson]

Samsung definitely priced it right if that's the regular price. The XZU is over $700. Knowing you, though, you'll probably have a new phone in a couple of weeks.

lol

Pretty bad when forum members notice my problem. I love playing with gadgets I guess.

 

[Rakehellion]

6.3 inches? I'm way bigger than that.

 

[jacktesterson]

QUICK UNBOXING - SORRY FOR THE RAMBLING - IT WAS UNPLANNED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtCxKFuG5mA

 

[bearxor]

6.3 inches? I'm way bigger than that.

I heard anything over 5.2 is a waste.

 

[Red Storm]

To be honest the Spec Race is getting kinda silly. Its a lot of marketing fluff.

An S4 Pro Dual Core with 1.5GB of Ram (Faster than last gen CPUs, even faster than the A9 Quads) with Adreno 305 (Equal to last gen top GPUs) and Android 4.2.2 is more than capable for the majority of users today. I don't game on my phone but if I did the 305 can handle pretty much any game out there.

Yes the 1080p screens are nice, I've owned a couple of them, but its not a ground breaking difference over 720p.

The HTML5 performance of this S4 Pro Dual Core is almost identical to the S600 Quad Core phones, because of IPC and not all cores being utilized by Browsers. I'm sure it will change with time

Well I wasn't even thinking about the specs, but yes they are better on the Note 3. And you get a stylus, as well as a more comfortable to hold phone that's still very big, plus the 1080P screen which is noticeable. And as the flagship phone you know you're going to get updates.

 

[ponyo]

I heard anything over 5.2 is a waste.

I have 7". The original granddaddy. It's true anything over 5.2 is a waste but 4" is just too small. Why do you think so many females prefer the Note?

 

[jacktesterson]

Well I wasn't even thinking about the specs, but yes they are better on the Note 3. And you get a stylus, as well as a more comfortable to ho for what I need

ld phone that's still very big, plus the 1080P screen which is noticeable. And as the flagship phone you know you're going to get updates.

All true. I agree 1080p is noticeable over 720p, and probably more so at this resolution, but holding phones this big you typically hold it a smidge further away too which helps. 720p was the biggest jump. Going 720p to 1080p just doesn't have that same wow factor that 720p brought, in my opinion.

I'm actually impressed with the screen so far. The lower PPI isn't bothering me at all. I have a HTC One right now with a 1080p screen I'm selling to pay for the Mega. I don't notice the difference that much. Even on websites so far, the Text is readable fully zoomed out on the Mega due to the screen size, whereas its sharper on the HTC One zoomed out, but actually harder to read due to being so tiny.

I think one people actually hold and use the phone for a bit, you may be surprised.

I wouldn't want any bigger, but I think I like the Mega size over the Note II size so far.

As for the Stylus, I could care less. I had a Note II for 6 months and probably used it 5 times. From what I've read, the Stylus is actually not used much by Note II owners overall.

 

[jpeyton]

Nice phone. I think the Mega has a definite appeal, for people who have a mid-tier budget but want a jumbo-screened device. If you have the dollars, the Note 3 would be the obvious choice. But the Mega is no slouch (neither was the S3 for that matter).

BTW, I watched your unboxing video and the Mega in your hands looks like an S4 in a normal-sized person's hands. I'm sure you're glad there are manufacturer's like Samsung who don't subscribe to Apple's one-puny-size-fits-all strategy.

 

[poofyhairguy]

This is a fun thread. I like non-mainstream devices.

 

[gsaldivar]

Nice form factor, but unfortunately the specs are inferior to the Note 3.

 

[jacktesterson]

Nice form factor, but unfortunately the specs are inferior to the Note 3.

Nobody is arguing that. It's a $450 phone vs a $700 phone

 

[gsaldivar]

Nobody is arguing that. It's a $450 phone vs a $700 phone

Granted, but I currently own a device that is reaching it's limit with only 1GB of RAM. With all the OS updates and apps getting bigger and more graphic intensive all the time, what used to be considered plenty of RAM has rapidly become limiting for many people. Regardless of price, I wouldn't consider purchasing a new phone that is only a marginal upgrade to the one I already own.

But everyone's needs are different! The beautiful thing about Android is that there are a range of devices at all price points that one can choose from. If the Mega meets your needs, that is what counts. Enjoy your new phone!

 

[Red Storm]

Can we get some pics with the Mega next to some other phones? Whenever I had my Note next to my friend's iPhone 4 the first thing I always thought was "Om nom nom" lol.

 

[ControlD]

I should have taken a picture this past weekend. We were at Walmart and they have the Mega there. I put my Note II next to it and it makes the Note look pretty small. Not quite like going from a 4S to a N2, but still quite noticeable.

 

[AViking]

I can totally see the appeal now. In your video your hands fit it perfectly. There's no sense of scale though so I can only assume you have giant hands.

Obligatory "PORTRAIT MODE?!"

 

[Abu Mahendra]

I echo the previous comments about the prevailing spec rat-race. One thing is clear, for most people and non-gamers, the Mega 6.3 packs enough oomph under the hood.

I could have bought the Note II or S4, but I bought the Mega 6.3. I could have bought just the Mega 6.3, but I also bought the Note 8. In other words, it is a great phone on its own merits. And once you go big-screen, there's no going back.