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Mobile Technology

Phablets are sooo last year: here comes the Samsung Galaxy Fonblet

By Will Shanklin
January 18, 2013
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The Fonblet might be a Galaxy Player 5.8 with a cellular radio
The Fonblet might be a Galaxy Player 5.8 with a cellular radio

When Samsung announced the first "phablet," the Galaxy Note, critics guffawed. A Zack Morris-sized smartphone with a stylus? Good luck with that. But then the device – and its sequel -– sold in bunches, and those critics ate their hats. So, as ridiculous as a rumored 5.8-inch smartphone dubbed "Fonblet" sounds, we'll keep the snickering to a minimum.

Specs?

According to SamMobile, Samsung will soon announce the Samsung Galaxy Fonblet 5.8. It's essentially the Galaxy Player 5.8 (a giant media player sold in Korea) with a cellular radio.The Galaxy Fonblet would sport the same 960 x 540 resolution (190 pixels per inch) as its Wi-Fi-only cousin. It will support dual SIM cards, and run either Android 4.1.2 or 4.2.1 Jellybean.

If its other specs borrow from the Galaxy Player 5.8, then it could potentially sport a 3-megapixel rear camera, Bluetooth 4.0, and a 2,500 mAh battery.

Release?

The source only mentions the Fonblet for Europe, so this could be a small-scale release. It's also possible that Samsung will use this device to test consumer demand, and later release a higher-end "Fonblet" on a larger scale with the full Samsung marketing treatment.Samsung's apparent determination to fill every conceivable size gap between tiny smartphone and large tablet is hard to fathom. But then again, a 5.8-inch smartphone could potentially hit a sweet spot for customers who only want one mobile device.

It's possible we'll hear more about the Galaxy Fonblet at next month's Mobile World Congress.

Source: SamMobile via BGR

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Mobile TechnologySamsungAndroidSamsung GalaxyPhablets
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Will Shanklin
Will Shanklin is New Atlas' VR and Mobile Editor, and has been part of the team since 2012. He covers a broad range of consumer tech, including virtual reality hardware and software, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches.
7 comments
Joris van den Heuvel
It's only logical. Why wouldn't there be tablets, phones, slates, flatbooks, flipbooks, or whatever class of device they coin this year, of any size? Why would 9.7" or 8.9" or 7" be an acceptable size, but not 5.8" or 5.3" or 4.7" or 3.5"? It's simply a smaller tablet. Or a bigger phone. Or just a "communicator". BTW it's about time we dropped the term "phone" for Android, iOS and WP8 devices; this only adds to the confusion.
PS. I own a Samsung Galaxy Note I. Best PDA I've ever owned.
Gethin Coles
As a hitch hickers guide to the galaxy fan I always imagined the guide to be about the same size as the paperback first edition - just about small enough to cram in your pocket. When all phone manufacturers were talking about was 2G I just wanted a mobile computer, couldn;t understand why the phone part of the phone was so important and when the first smartphone came out I wanted one that was just small enough to fit in a pocket. Its time to stop calling them phones. Give me a bluetooth connected handset for the phonecalls, and design them around the dimensions of your average jeans back pocket.
MarylandUSA
This in-betweener size may be new to a first-tier brand, but it's not new to the market: 6.44 Sony (rumored at http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/21/3899758/leaked-display-component-6-44-inch-1080p-sony-smartphone) 6.3 Samsung Note 3 (reported) 6.1 Star C3 i9220+, Huewai Ascend Mate 6.0 Dapeng/Star N9776, a9800, and i9800, Viewsonic n9880; CarNote Note5 F6; P6 5.9, Karbonn A30 5.8, HDC Galaxy Player N7300, Vsun i1 (in Russia) 5.7, THL W7; ZOPO ZP950; ZTE P945, Granite 5.6, Samsung Note 2 (5.55) 5.5 Feiteng H7100, M506, Dapeng/Star i9300i, N7100+, N9100, N9330, 9300i, and S7180 5.4, HDC Galaxy Note 2 5.3, Note 1 (16:10); Yinkpai 9300+ 5.2 Haipai; Fizz; GT50 5.1 Star N9770
Atul Malhotra
Calling a device phone stopped being logical several years ago, even as they started carrying GPRS and camera functions.
Let's just call them MFD or MFG as in Multifunction device or Multifunction gadget !
Ed
I love my Samsung Galaxy Note 1, and once it's two year contract is up, I'm upgrading to what ever is the big phone next! I also have a Galaxy Tab 2-7 inch tablet that I love and my wife has the Galaxy S3 which she has discovered she can't live without. I will always keep my eye out on whatever Samsung is going to do next. It will always be an eye opener instead of yet another i-whatever from *yawn* Apple...
Dave Hargraves
I have been trying to push the smartphone tablet for a couple of years now in the blogs of Blackberry. Though my design does not resemble Samsungs in the least, it will be the next generation smartphone, due to its extraordinary functional features. even though my prototype features a smartphone tablet in one device, its the design of this prototype "that i have made" that will prompt a game changer in the smartphone technology industry. Society believes that the shape and appearance of handheld devices today is considered standard, they would be wrong. if invited under my terms and conditions i would be happy to present this prototype. Rim being a canadian company is my first choice to have the opportunity to present but it seems they are so full of themselves they are going to lose the best opportunity that their company ever came across. regards Freelance Eng.(designer of smartphone tech)
Joris van den Heuvel
Dave, they're not *full of themselves*, they simply have enough ideas to play with and a marketing research department, telling them what will sell. Your idea doesn't, or they would've come up with it. Don't flatter yourself.
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