It is often said that "bigger is better" and that seems to be the mantra adopted by major smartphone makers for 2013. A slew of 5-inch 1080p smartphones have already set the trend, and things are looking "bigger" and brighter as the year progresses.

Huawei unveiled its 6.1-inch Ascend Mate phablet at the recently concluded CES 2013, and several major players like ZTE, Samsung, and Sony are also said to have 6-inch plus smartphones in the works.

We take a look at the top three 6-inch smartphones to watch out for in 2013. Here's a look at the three rumored colossal phablets: the ZTE Nubia Z7, the Sony Xperia, and Samsung Galaxy Note 3. 

ZTE Nubia Z7

China-based ZTE is said to be working on a 6.3-inch smartphone, dubbed the Nubia Z7. Reports point to a 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution for the device, an 8-core processor that is clocked at 1.4GHz, and 128GB of on-board storage.

If you're thirsting for more, you won't be disappointed as the Nubia Z7 is believed to pack in a 16-megapixel primary camera, LTE connectivity, Mali T658 GPU, and a 4000mAh battery.

The Nubia Z7 sounds fantastic on paper, right? Can it get any better, you wonder? Yes it can. The Nubia Z7 will supposedly come pre-loaded with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie!

Sony Xperia

Japanese smartphone maker Sony took the wraps off its 5-inch Xperia Z smartphone, the company's flagship phone for 2013, at CES 2013. However, it seems that Sony is set to go even bigger if a recent leak is anything to go by.

Rumor has it that Sony is working on a colossal 6.44-inch smartphone (dubbed Xperia Togari) that will look to challenge the Galaxy Note 3. The alleged smartphone will have 1080p HD resolution and will be a part of the company's Xperia line-up of devices.

Not much is currently known about the device, but the leaked image of the glass panel suggests that the bezels on the side of the Sony phablet are slimmer than those on the 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate, which launched at CES 2013.

Considering Sony's Xperia Z packs in a whopping 13.1-megapixel front-facing camera, fans would be hoping that the upcoming mystery phablet betters this. Additionally, the Xperia phablet could also take a page out of the Xperia Z's book and be both waterproof and dust resistant.

The Sony phablet will likely make its debut at the MWC 2013 in Barcelona this February and will be looking to challenge Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 3.

Galaxy Note 3

Samsung's Galaxy line-up of smartphones ruled the roost in 2012 and if rumors are anything to go by, the Korean company is set to retain its smartphone market leader title for another year.

The Galaxy Note 3, the successor of the best-selling Galaxy Note 2, is slated to make an appearance at the IFA 2013 in September. Speculations have been rife as to what the behemoth will house inside, and how will Samsung up its game and give consumers a device that betters the Galaxy Note 2.

Rumor has it that the Galaxy Note 3 will sport a ginormous 6.3-inch OLED screen. It is also conjectured that the device will feature Samsung's new "Youm" flexible display.

The Galaxy Note 3 is also speculated to house the Exynos 5 octa-core processor, which combines two quad-core processors i.e. a 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A15 and a 1.2GHz Cortex-A7.

The Galaxy Note 3 will likely pack in the S Pen stylus, its USP and something that may not be available on the other two devices. Additionally, Samsung recently patented an eye tracking technology (Eye Pause and Eye Scroll), which it could possibly include in the Galaxy Note 3.

The next-gen phablet is also expected to come pre-loaded with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie and is speculated to release in the second half of 2013.