Samsung to launch new 5.8-inch Galaxy smartphone

Samsung seems to be set to expand its Galaxy line-up. According to SamMobile, the Korean company is going to release a smartphone based on its Galaxy Player 5.8. Dubbed the Galaxy Fonblet 5.8, it will presumably be a dual-SIM device and will sport the same 5.8-inch screen as the Galaxy Player 5.8.

The Galaxy Fonblet 5.8 will come in pure white colour only and is not set to have colour options at launch. The device will be running either Android 4.1.2 or Android 4.2.1 out of the box. If the specs of the Galaxy Player 5.8 are anything to go by, the Fonblet will have a TFT screen with a qHD resolution display, a 3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth 4.0. The Galaxy Player was announced back in August 2012. The media player runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface on top.

Expect it to look something like this

Rumours about Samsung’s next flagship phone are spreading like wild fire. According to a recent report, benchmarks have popped up on the AnTuTu database that seem to be of the Galaxy S IV. If these benchmarks are anything to go by, the Galaxy S IV is set to have the same specs as specultaed by the rumour mill.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

The biggest confirmation comes for the processor. The phone seems to be running on a 1.8GHz processor, which is presumably the eight-core Exynos 5 Octa that the company had unveiled earlier this month during CES. It also seems to be running Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. Going by rumours, the phone will be seeing the light of day in the first half of the year. If Samsung’s plans are anything like last year, the Galaxy S IV will probably not be showcased during the upcoming MWC.

The biggest change compared to previous phones in the Galaxy S line-up would be the screen. With all OEMs launching 5-inch, 1080p display phones, rest assured that the S IV will also feature a 5-inch, full HD display of the Super AMOLED variety. Samsung’s 4.99-inch full HD display with 440ppi is scheduled for a Q1 release and in all likelihood, will make its way to the Galaxy S IV. There are rumours about the S IV having an ‘unbreakable screen’. This could either be a reference to Corning’s new Gorilla Glass 3 or Samsung might be developing something in-house.

We can also expect an upgraded camera. 8MP sensors just don’t cut it anymore (unless it’s anything like the one on the Lumia 920), which is why a 12MP or 13MP camera sounds about right and will compete nicely with the Sony Xperia Z/ZL. We’ve also heard talks about the S IV launching with S Pen, the trademark accessory of the Galaxy Note. While this could dilute the uniqueness of the phablet, we wouldn’t rule it out as a possibility given the expected screen size of the S IV.