How Big a Phone Will You Carry All the Time?

How big a device will you carry with you, all the time, like you carry a mobile phone? Samsung Mega is going to provide some real-world testing, as AT&T, Sprint and US Cellular introduce the phablet this fall.

The 6.3-inch display on the Mega creeps closer to the crossover point between the smallest tablets and the biggest phone, and might be a test of whether a single device can replace the phone and the tablet.

Lots of people might not want to make such a choice, just as many people use PCs, tablets and smart phones, with each device used in distinct ways.

On the other hand, it still isn’t clear what percentage of on the go users might actually prefer a phone that has a screen large enough to replicate many of the functions a tablet might, under other circumstances, provide.

If you have used a Samsung Note, with a 5.5-inch screen, the move to a 6.3-inch device is somewhat incremental.

Where a Galaxy 3 or Galaxy 4 will fit in some cargo pockets, a Note really does not. Some of us have not found that a barrier to using a Note as a full-time phone.

The issue is how a pants pocket-sized 6.3-inch device will be received. The answer probably will be that for some users the Mega is a fine choice, giving many of the advantages of a small tablet without the need to carry one.

Others will probably find that is useful when fully mobile, but that a tablet gets used when a person is at home or other places where mobile support is not needed.

Perhaps the story here might turn out to be that “one size does not fit all,” giving Samsung a chance to create a new market segment (on the assumption that a phablet does not displace the tablet market, but represents a segment for mobile devices).