Dude, your Samsung Galaxy W phone is the same size as my tablet

It was nearly two years ago now, I was sitting in a coffee shop with my brother and a couple of his friends. One of them turned to me, “wow, that is a huge phone! What is it?” I laughed, then proceeded to explain that it was my brand new Nexus 7 tablet, not a phone at all. We joked about how silly it would be to have a phone that large, then went back to our debate on Buell vs Ducati motorcycles.

Little did we know, the huge-phone ‘joke’ would continue to play out to this day.

A couple months back, there were rumors that Samsung was working on a 7-inch phone for the Mega lineup. This past weekend, leaked images hit the web of the rumored device. A faux leather backed unit being called the Samsung Galaxy Mega 7.0 has been spotted with China Mobile branding, and today we see what appears to be the same device released as the Galaxy W in South Korea. So, joke if you will, but this tablet sized phone is real, and can be yours for 499,400 Korean Won (roughly US$488.)

The current rumors have the Samsung Galaxy W poised to be a budget device. Android 4.3 powered, 720p display, Snapdragon 400 processor 1.5GB of RAM, LTE-A, microSD slot, 3200mAh battery and, depending on the rumor, either 16GB or a mere 8GB internal storage. Once again, I am reminded of the original Nexus 7, at least the specs are fairly similar, and both rock a 7-inch screen.

Should a phone be as big as the Nexus 7 tablet?

There is no way I will admit that I put my Nexus 7 up to my head to see what a phone this large would feel like, but I have been mulling over it all weekend. We’ve already decided that the logistics of putting such a large device to ear is a bit of a joke, but does that make such a phone a bad idea?

Most Nexus 7 users are huge fans of their tablet, we discussed that here. However, those of us willing to lug the thing everywhere we go are a dying breed. Size was highly blamed for the ‘lack of mobility,’ but not so much as the fact that many of us already have a 5.5 – 6-inch phone in our pocket, why would we want a 7-inch tablet as well?

I’ll be the first to claim that 7-inch is a sweet spot for a device. Large enough to watch a movie without squinting, small enough to squeeze into a pocket or purse. I would feel silly sticking it to my head to make a call, but who really places phone calls anymore? For those that do, many take advantage of hands free conveniences like a Bluetooth headset anyway. It may be hard to find the users of the ASUS Fonepad 7 or HP VoiceTab, but they are already out there with their 7-inch phones. I think I am starting to be comfortable with the 7-inch phone idea after all.

What do you think, if you haven’t just invested in a 6-inch range Android phone, can you see yourself jumping up to the Samsung Galaxy W?