Samsung Galaxy Mega review

After all that, you might have a pretty good idea of where this all leaves us. With the Galaxy Mega, Samsung has created a handset that really stands out, if only for its gargantuan screen.

Coming in at a price point that means it challenges the flagship end of the market, the Galaxy Mega needs to be able to fight it out with the Samsung Galaxy S4, the HTC One and the Sony Xperia Z1. Being equipped with lower spec-ed internal weaponry, this is a fight that the Galaxy Mega might struggle in.

We liked

We could sit on the fence when it comes to the screen, but when it comes to the size of it, it really can be useful to have that extra space. Samsung has proven through the Note series, that big screens sell, and we can see why. It makes multi-tasking via the Multi-Window , or whilst watching a video through Pop-up Play that little bit easier. It also makes web browsing and book reading a lot easier.

The Galaxy Mega doesn't feel as large as it could do, either. Whilst too large to be popped into a tight pocket, or for one handed use 90% of the time, the Galaxy Mega was clearly designed to be used two handed, and tapping away a text or an email message is a lot easier with two hands and that wider screen.

We can say that we are also big fans of the camera, given that it has the same 8MP camera that was on the back of the Galaxy S4 Mini. It is a testament to the fact that sensor size isn't something that can accurately be relied upon as a measurement of a camera's image quality. It will never be a total camera replacement, but that 8MP won't leave you wishing that you had a compact camera in your pocket as well.

We disliked

As Galaxy Mega is going to be put up against the flagship phones, we were left feeling a little disappointed that the 1.7GHz processor behind the screen is only a dual-core. Whilst it might have been able to cope with the majority of things that we threw its way, it was by no means the same smooth experience that the quad cores in the likes of the Galaxy S4 provides.

The Galaxy Mega also suffers from paltry internal storage. We can't fathom how a device with such a large screen, that is ideal for watching videos on whilst out and about, can come with such a tiny internal storage. Samsung will argue that they provide the microSD slot, but we would still ask for more, as that 5GB will get quickly filled with apps.

Looking at the Galaxy Mega, it is clear what the major selling point is meant to be, so we don't understand why Samsung hasn't made more of a feature out of it. Maybe it would have pushed the high prices even higher, but with a phone that appears to have been designed almost entirely around that large screen, we would have hoped for it to have been Full HD, and using the AMOLED technology that Samsung is famed for.

Final verdict

In the end, we are left feeling a little confused by the Samsung Galaxy Mega. Every time we pick it up, we really want to like it. Samsung proved with the original Galaxy Note, and the subsequent Galaxy Note 2, that big screens really do sell phones, and we can see exactly why.

But that Galaxy Note 2 comes with an AMOLED screen, and the same resolution as the Galaxy Mega but in a screen that is 0.8 inches smaller so seems that bit more impressive. The Note 2 even comes in cheaper, with a quad core and the S Pen.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega, then, is annoyingly disappointing. With there being so much else to choose from, with the Galaxy Note 2 being cheaper, the flagship phones being higher spec-ed, and the onslaught of alternate 'phablets' in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Sony Xperia Z Ultra and HTC One Max, we can't see where the Mega fits in.

First reviewed: September 2013