Prepare yourself for a world of smartphone hybrids. Yahoo! Korea is reporting that Samsung is working on the Galaxy Q, a 5.3-inch ‘phone’ which blurs the line between smartphone and tablet. Bridging the gap between the monstrous 4.5-inch Samsung Infuse and the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab might sound logical, but the Galaxy Q is not the future of smartphones.
Could you imaging carting around a 5.3-inch smartphone in your pocket? Unless we’re mistaken, skinny jeans are all the rave these days. The thought of a five-inch smartphone is a far cry from 1999 when the Nokia 8200 reigned supreme as the smallest and lightest Nokia mobile phone on the market. Today, at least according to Samsung, the motto in mobile is ‘bigger is better’.
The rumored Samsung Galaxy Q is expected to debut in September at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA). While the report from Yahoo! Korea is calling the device a “phone”, the source behind the story believes the Galaxy Q is a stepping-stone between PC and mobile phone. With a display best suited for bags rather than pockets, the Galaxy Q aptly earns the title ‘smartphone hybrid’.
Forgive me if I sound naive, but aren’t all tablets a stepping-stone between PC and mobile phone? At 5.3-inches the Galaxy Q is less than an inch larger diagonally than Samsung’s Infuse 4G. This seemingly minor detail results in an unwieldy device which in my opinion fails to offer little if any compelling advantage over an Android smartphone.
At the OS level, the Samsung Galaxy Q could potentially ship with Android Honeycomb. Samsung smartphones on the other hand are currently powered by Gingerbread. This will all change later this year with the release of Ice Cream Sandwich, unifying the worlds of Android smartphones and tablets. With the Galaxy Q due to be unveiled in September, how soon could Samsung bring the Galaxy Q to market?
In a perfect world the gap between announcement and release is three months. This pegs the Galaxy Q launch around December. With Android Ice Cream Sandwich on tap for this same time frame, the only advantage remaining would be the larger display. If given the choice between a 4.5-inch smartphone or a 5.3-inch smartphone-tablet hybrid, which would you choose?
The HTC Flyer, BlackBerry PlayBook and original Galaxy Tab have proven a market exists for the 7-inch tablet variety. Though these tablets fail to command the sales numbers of the iPad, as a consumer, I welcome the opportunity of choice in my tablet dimensions. Unfortunately, the crux of the matter is that a 5.3-inch tablet market is unnecessary as is a 5.3-inch smartphone. Unless Samsung throws us a curveball and launches the Galaxy Q running Windows Phone 7, I find it hard to make a case in favor of this smartphone hybrid.
Is there room in your gadget collection for a 5.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Q?
