Samsung 5" Galaxy S4 and 5.5" Full HD Galaxy Note 3 Due Early 2013?

The South Korean media—namely the Korea Times and MK News—is reporting Samsung's plans to out a Galaxy S4 handset, complete with a 5" screen, sooner than expected. In fact, it could be landing by March 2013. The firm also apparently plans to out Full HD phones with 400 dpi resolution in the first quarter of 2013.

Samsung Galaxy S4 with 5" Screen and Coming in March?

Just three days after Apple announced the iPhone 5, Samsung apparently decided to bring the release of the next Galaxy S phone forward from the usual month of May to March 2013. The Galaxy S4 is therefore highly likely to crop up as the guest star at next year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), due to be held from 25 to 28 February 2013 in Barcelona.

The screen is reportedly set to get even bigger in the Galaxy S4, measuring 5" diagonally compared with 4.8" for the Galaxy S3. 4G LTE connectivity is also on the agenda.

"The S4 will see some external changes but retain its popular rectangular shape with rounded corner concept", an official from one of Samsung’s local partners told the Korea Times.

A 5.5" Handset (Note 3?) with Full HD AMOLED Screen by Summer 2013

The second bit of juicy info comes from MK News, which reports that Samsung is set to out smartphones with Full HD AMOLED screens and 400 dpi resolution in 2013.

After a quick bit of maths—taking into account the resolution and definition (1920 x 1080)—that works out as a screen measuring 5.5". That's the same size as the Galaxy Note 2 which, interestingly, has already started to come down in price.

It's hard to imagine Samsung outing a second 5.5" handset with a higher screen def than the Note 2 and selling the two giant phones alongside one another. Maybe that means we'll see a Galaxy Note 3 landing in the first quarter of 2013 rather than in October.

Shorter Product Lifespans for Apple and Samsung?

Some may find it pretty worrying to see the lifespans of popular products being trimmed further and further down. Apple this week killed off its "new iPad" launched just seven months ago, replacing it with an even newer new iPad with Retina display (two days before Microsoft finally launches its Surface tablet).

If these handsets arrive as predicted, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2 will end up with lifespans of 8 to 10 months rather than a full year. And if this is Samsung's response to the new iPhone, what will Apple come up with in return? And how will it affect the shelf-life of the iPhone 5?



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