The Galaxy Mega with 6.3 Inch Screen

[jacktesterson]

My god, this S4 feels like a iphone in my hands now. So much smaller!

I will admit, one handed typing is nice.

The "punch" of the OLED screen is pretty nice too. Screen has improved greatly since the S3.

 

[jacktesterson]

I switched back from the S4 to the Mega.

Call me crazy, but when I went from the Mega to the S4, I REALLY missed the screen. Even though its 720p.

Once you get used to bigger screens its hard to go back... My hands are huge too, so the S4 felt so tiny.

I picked up a Canadian Mega this time too, so the bootloader is unlocked. My first Mega was an AT&T model, and I didn't realize before buying it that the AT&T models are bootloader locked.. you can't even root them right now. (where as the Canadian models are all unlocked and have root and custom recoveries available)


Also - the Mega camera is no slouch... It's basically the Note II camera. Going from the Mega to the S4 Camera, I saw little difference in day to day use.

The S4 is a smudge quicker, but the Mega can handle anything I do fine. It even games fine. Web browsing I saw no difference in performance.


BATTERY LIFE TOO! I was easily able to get a full day use out of my Mega - I use my phone a lot. The S4 easily had the hit the charger by 5pm most days for me. I bought a 2nd battery for it.

 

[lopri]

So in your experience the Mega lasts longer than the S4, battery-wise?

P.S. BTW I was thinking if you run into the HTC One Max by chance maybe you should shoot a video of your hand holding it and upload it.

 

[TwiceOver]

Hrm... It's time for my wife to get an upgrade, which really means I get an upgrade and she gets my Nexus4. I've wanted a Note for a while but the price tag is just too far out of my reach. Was thinking of going Nexus5, but who knows when that'll be out. I don't really care about specs as long as it doesn't slow down all the time. Might have to consider the Mega. Though bootloader locked might cramp my style a little.

 

[s44]

Hrm... It's time for my wife to get an upgrade, which really means I get an upgrade and she gets my Nexus4. I've wanted a Note for a while but the price tag is just too far out of my reach. Was thinking of going Nexus5, but who knows when that'll be out. I don't really care about specs as long as it doesn't slow down all the time. Might have to consider the Mega. Though bootloader locked might cramp my style a little.

Note 2 prices are really reasonable now.

 

[TwiceOver]

Note 2 prices are really reasonable now.

Yeah, for used ones. Honestly if I'm going to spend $400 on something, it's gotta be new.

Also I was thinking about the Nexus5 and another issue I have is that I can't stand losing all that screen to on screen buttons. I've minimized the issue as best as possible on my N4, but it's still such a waste.

 

[jacktesterson]

Yeah, for used ones. Honestly if I'm going to spend $400 on something, it's gotta be new.

Also I was thinking about the Nexus5 and another issue I have is that I can't stand losing all that screen to on screen buttons. I've minimized the issue as best as possible on my N4, but it's still such a waste.

I got my new Mega for $325 on ebay auction

will get $450+ out of the S4

 

[TwiceOver]

I got my new Mega for $325 on ebay auction

will get $450+ out of the S4

None even close to that anymore. Looks like $410/$440 for 8/16gb respectively.

I'm still in the hunt, no hurry until the wife really starts bitching about her Skyrocket.

 

[jacktesterson]

None even close to that anymore. Looks like $410/$440 for 8/16gb respectively.

I'm still in the hunt, no hurry until the wife really starts bitching about her Skyrocket.

Keep an eye out

I got mine with no real intention. It had a starting bid of $325.00 on it + $15 shipping in Canada. I made a $350 bid thinking I wouldn't get it but I was surprised when the ebay app notified me I had won, and for the min amount. I was charged tax though which sucked (didn't notice this when I first made the bid, my bad). It was a display model with the only mark on it being where it was held on the battery cover. I bought a metal battery cover off ebay for $7 so it will look like new. I also found an unlock code on the net for 7.99

I paid $425 for the previous AT&T model I had which was brand new. I was able to trade it locally for a like new S4 with 2 extra batteries, an Otterbox, and a 32GB card. I kept the 32GB card out of it and should be able to get my $425 back out of the S4 and Stuff after shipping and fees.

Edit: For sale Thread for it here if anyone interested

 

[Trombe]

What's the model number for the Canadian one? Can't seem to find it on Samsung site yet.

 

[jacktesterson]

What's the model number for the Canadian one? Can't seem to find it on Samsung site yet.

i527m

 

[TwiceOver]

I noticed a guy in FSFT selling a Note1 for pretty cheap. Any experience with that one?

 

[cliftonite]

I noticed a guy in FSFT selling a Note1 for pretty cheap. Any experience with that one?

Not worth it at this point IMO. It is really underpowered and laggy.

 

[Abu Mahendra]

The Mega 6.3 Is the dark horse of the Galaxy line.

 

[Geekbabe]

I currently have a Galaxy Note 2 & a Motorola Droid Ultra. I love devices with big screens! The Mega looks cool but the Note 3 will be my next phone, the 2 spoiled me!

 

[TwiceOver]

OK went to showroom a Mega at the ATT store. They were happy I was asking about it because it gave them an excuse to open their only one for a display model.

Wow, that's an awesome phone. There was some lag, but it was mostly touch-wiz lag. Apps performed as expected with no complaints here. I was able to thumb across it without any issue, I guess I'm used to doing it. The screen resolution doesn't really bother me. I actually kinda like it because everything was readable from a distance instead of having a tiny screen smashed in my face.

They did let me put it in my back pocket to test that aspect. I wear 34x32 jeans and in my back pocket, it stuck out an extra half inch easily. There's no possible way I would be able to sit down with this in my back pocket, definitely not in my front pocket. I've gotten used to the N4 in my back pocket, so I'd probably get used to it.

It was the 16gb model and was $480 off contract. I did look at the Note3 while I was there, but that was definitely out of my league at $730 off contract. Don't get me wrong though, the Note3 was a very solid nice looking phone. I should also note that they did say they would not unlock it for me if bought off contract, I would have to call ATT corporate for that and even then no guarantee.

I was waiting for the N5, but I might just go this route if I can find one cheap enough.

Damn you gadgets!

 

[jacktesterson]

OK went to showroom a Mega at the ATT store. They were happy I was asking about it because it gave them an excuse to open their only one for a display model.

Wow, that's an awesome phone. There was some lag, but it was mostly touch-wiz lag. Apps performed as expected with no complaints here. I was able to thumb across it without any issue, I guess I'm used to doing it. The screen resolution doesn't really bother me. I actually kinda like it because everything was readable from a distance instead of having a tiny screen smashed in my face.

They did let me put it in my back pocket to test that aspect. I wear 34x32 jeans and in my back pocket, it stuck out an extra half inch easily. There's no possible way I would be able to sit down with this in my back pocket, definitely not in my front pocket. I've gotten used to the N4 in my back pocket, so I'd probably get used to it.

It was the 16gb model and was $480 off contract. I did look at the Note3 while I was there, but that was definitely out of my league at $730 off contract. Don't get me wrong though, the Note3 was a very solid nice looking phone. I should also note that they did say they would not unlock it for me if bought off contract, I would have to call ATT corporate for that and even then no guarantee.

I was waiting for the N5, but I might just go this route if I can find one cheap enough.

Damn you gadgets!

Weird

I've already seen a few in public.

There is a few jitters in the touchwiz launcher on this phone. It's odd as the device is not slow. Installing Apex or Nova fixes it. I currently have a Note 2 and S4 on hand too (selling them) and the Mega is the snappier phone compared to the Note 2 in real world usage. The S4 wins, but for daily use, they are all great.

The Mega is no slouch. Its a dual core, but its a very fast dual core.

Ever look on ebay? I got mine for $350 delivered via auction type on a used one, but its basically a new phone other than a couple scratches on the battery cover. (which are $5 to replace off the bay)

 

[TwiceOver]

Weird

I've already seen a few in public.

There is a few jitters in the touchwiz launcher on this phone. It's odd as the device is not slow. Installing Apex or Nova fixes it. I currently have a Note 2 and S4 on hand too (selling them) and the Mega is the snappier phone compared to the Note 2. The S4 wins, but for daily use, they are all great.

The Mega is no slouch. Its a dual core, but its a very fast dual core.

Ever look on ebay? I got mine for $350 delivered via auction type on a used one, but its basically a new phone other than a couple scratches on the battery cover. (which are $5 to replace off the bay)

I live in a small town. I'd definitely be the first one with it. I rarely run into anyone that knows what a Nexus phone is even.

On a side note, I ran into one issue. I run. Which means I usually have my phone strapped to my arm. While they do make an arm strap for the Mega, I am guaranteed to look like an idiot. I'd probably have to keep my Wife's Skyrocket so I can sim swap over to it for running. Not ideal, but is fine really.

 

[TwiceOver]

Well... My mega will be here early next week. Found a seller that took a OBO of $350 shipped, which is 150 off retail.

Any recommendation on case, screen protector. Normally I go bare, but noticed this doesn't have gorilla glass.

 

[jacktesterson]

I'm going bare - no problems with any scratches here so far.

Not a fan of protectors. It's still scratch resistant glass... just not gorilla.

 

[s44]

I go naked screen. But the phone has its own pocket.

Hybrid TPU like this or this will be the lightest/least bulky ones that are still drop-protective.

 

[jacktesterson]

I see Samsung make official Cases for this phone now, for the inflated price of $29.99 each here.

 

[Trombe]

Wishing I could easily find one for $350 thats Canadian to avoid the bloatware. They are rare though relative to the ATT ones on eBay. 400+ feels like too much for something I really only use when outdoors or bored at work, and is encroaching on nexus 5 territory (though honestly I'm almost entirely certain I'd rather have the big screen over everything else).

 

[TwiceOver]

Wishing I could easily find one for $350 thats Canadian to avoid the bloatware. They are rare though relative to the ATT ones on eBay. 400+ feels like too much for something I really only use when outdoors or bored at work, and is encroaching on nexus 5 territory (though honestly I'm almost entirely certain I'd rather have the big screen over everything else).

Also note that the ATT ones are 16gb where as the international ones are almost all 8gb that I have seen anyway. I got my ATT version for $350 shipped. Should be here tomorrow.

I was waiting for the N5, but honestly it's more of the same to me. Better processor, SOC, whatever it really doesn't do me any good. So time to switch it up. I'm considering my purchase as a Tablet that makes calls, instead of a gigantic phone. Considering I average less than 100min/mo, I don't really need a phone anyway.

Hoping for future development from the community. A Paranoid Android Rom for it would be awesome. I read an article about a leak that shows 4.4 will be released for it. This is my first samsung phone so I don't know how reliable these leaks really are.

 

[jacktesterson]

Also note that the ATT ones are 16gb where as the international ones are almost all 8gb that I have seen anyway. I got my ATT version for $350 shipped. Should be here tomorrow.

I was waiting for the N5, but honestly it's more of the same to me. Better processor, SOC, whatever it really doesn't do me any good. So time to switch it up. I'm considering my purchase as a Tablet that makes calls, instead of a gigantic phone. Considering I average less than 100min/mo, I don't really need a phone anyway.

Hoping for future development from the community. A Paranoid Android Rom for it would be awesome. I read an article about a leak that shows 4.4 will be released for it. This is my first samsung phone so I don't know how reliable these leaks really are.

All Canadian models (i527m) are 16GB and mine is bloat free. All Canadian models are bootloader unlocked too with root and custom recovery available

AT&T models (i527) are full of bloat , branded physically and are bootloader locked (no root available, no custom roms AT ALL )