By Jimmie Geddes email: j.geddes@mobilenapps.com | Feb 12, 2013 02:18 PM EST
The Samsung Galaxy Note can be credited as the device that began a new category in mobile computing, the phablet. Samsung took a chance by releasing a smartphone with a 5.3-inch screen; it was blurring the lines between a smartphone and a tablet.
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Many critics slammed the device as being too large for a smartphone, but consumers had a different response and purchased the device in record numbers. The Galaxy Note was a success for Samsung and naturally, it followed up with the Galaxy Note 2, which features a 5.5-inch screen and is an even bigger hit.
Now comes word that Samsung might announce the successor to the Galaxy Note 2, the Galaxy Note 3, at Mobile World Congress, which begins on Feb. 25 and runs through Feb. 28 in Barcelona. Samsung could use its keynote presentation to announce the Galaxy Note 3 and announce a possible global launch at the end of February.
Indications that Samsung might announce the Galaxy Note 3 and then release the smartphone by the end of February lie in the significant global price drops of the Galaxy Note 2. It appears that carriers are trying to rid their inventory to make room for the Galaxy Note 3.
The latest rumors claim the smartphone will make better use of its S-Pen by allowing the use of touch-less gestures by hovering over the screen. The device would automatically turn on without any touch, and display information such as missed, calls, texts, emails and more. This makes sense, as Samsung has recently purchased 5 percent of Wacom, the company known for being a research and development pioneer in digital input via stylus. Wacom also just happens to be the current manufacturer of the S-Pen found in the Galaxy Note 2, so an enhanced S-Pen for the Galaxy Note 3 could ring true.
The Galaxy Note 3 is expected to bring an even larger screen to the market, a 6.3-inch screen. Samsung will also likely use its Exynos Octa processor, which it debuted at CES 2013. The Exynos Octa is Samsung's latest mobile processor, featuring two sets of quad-core processors that provide significant computing power and energy efficiency. If the rumors are true, this is the perfect processor to power the Galaxy Note 3.
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