Our friends over at AT&T have sent us the Samsung Galaxy Mega for us to review. Yes, this is the Galaxy Mega and it has a 6.3-inch screen. To say the least, the mega is a massive smartphone or phablet. It comes in at a lower price than the Galaxy Note 3, at just $149.99 with a 2-year contract. It has a similar design to the Galaxy S 4 and it just looks like a much larger version of the device. Does a larger screen equal more fun and enjoyment? Will the Galaxy Mega be your next device? Read on in our full review of the AT&T Galaxy Mega to find out!
Design
The Galaxy Mega is a monster sized smartphone and it is even big for as far as phablets go. It is coming in at 6.6-inches X 3.46-inches, but it is thin at only 0.36-inches. With that being said you will need two hands to use the device and it may not fit into the pocket of your pants. The entire build is plastic with the silver aluminum siding, but you do get a large back that comes off. I really like the nice dark blue color of the device and the grid design on the back cover.
The back of the device is home to an AT&T logo, a Galaxy Mega logo, a speaker, and a 8 megapixel back camera with an LED flash. You can charge the Mega via a micro USB port located on the bottom. The volume rocker is on the left and the power/sleep button is on the right. Your headphone jack is nicely located on the top of the device. Below the display you will find the menu, home, and back buttons. Above the display you can find the Samsung logo, front facing camera, some sensors, and a earpiece.
Software
The AT&T Galaxy Mega is running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with a Samsung user interface. It is a very similar software experience to the other Galaxy devices. You can use the phone in either landscape or portrait mode, which ever is easier for you. This is a very unique feature to the device, as many smartphones currently on the market will not do this. You get some nice widgets from Samsung pre-loaded on the device like weather. In terms of applications pre-loaded on the Mega, you will find Amazon Kindle, AT&T Code Scanner, AT&T DriveMode, AT&T FamilyMaps, AT&T Locker, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Ready2Go, AT&T Smart Wi-Fi, Battery Manager, Google App Suite, Google Play Suite, Google Chrome, Data Manager, Device Help, Flipboard, Mobile Hotspot, group Play, Messages, MyAT&T, Qello, S Memo, Games, S Translator, S Voice, Samsung Apps, Samsung Hub, Samsung Link, WatchOn, Video, TripAdvisor, YouTube, Story Album, and many others!
Hardware
For speed you get AT&T 4G LTE as your network on the Galaxy Mega. This will give you speeds that are up to ten times faster than a 3G network. AT&T 4G LTE covers most of the country, but if you are not yet covered fear not. AT&T also operates a extensively back hauled 4G HSPA+ network that covers the country. This way you won’t drop down to the slower 3G speeds right away. Streaming video and browsing the web over AT&T 4G LTE worked very nicely and I was impressed with the connection.
A 8 megapixel back camera with an LED flash is the main camera on the Galaxy Mega. Photos capture outdoors were very sharp and life-like, but indoors that could appear a little less sharp. This way surprising to me, but it might take some time to get the perfect shot. This camera can record video in 1080pHD as well. Plus, you get a 1.9 megapixel camera on the front for video chatting and taking selfies.
A 1.7GHz dual core processor with 1.5GB of RAM is on board the Galaxy Mega. This is less than the current Note 3 and the Galaxy S 4, but it still gets the job done on this device. When you look at the benchmarks the facts are that it is a slower device, but for daily usage you will not see a difference. Applications open and close quickly and multitasking is a breeze.
The star of the show on the AT&T Galaxy Mega is the large display. In fact you get a 6.3-inch 720pHD display with 233 pixels per inch. I am disappointed that Samsung and AT&T opted not to put a 1080pHD display on this device, it would have made the experience much better. For the most part the quality is good, at times when you zoom in on text or an image it might become fuzzy. Gaming looks great and the processor can keep up with the needs of 3D graphics. Streaming video over Netflix or YouTube looks nice as well. While the display could be better, for the most part it is good enough.
Bottom Line
The AT&T Galaxy Mega is huge device that fits a certain area of the market. Those looking for a large smartphone or a phhablet, have found there device. The Mega could be called the king of the phablets just for the 6.3-inch screen it is packing. Sure Sony offers a 6.4-inch device, but it is only available overseas or intentionally. For know, the Galaxy Mega is the king of the pack. It would be nicer to have seen a full 1080pHD display on this device, but hopefully they will do this for the successor. Plus Samsung and AT&T probably wanted to keep the device low and affordable at only $149.99. For those who might not want to hold it up to their heads when they get a phone call, a simple Bluetooth headset can come to the rescue. Those looking for a big phone and who are on a budget or someone who wants something bigger than an Optimus G Pro or a Note 3, should take a look at the Galaxy Mega on AT&T. For More Information On The AT&T Samsung Galaxy Mega, Please Click Here. We would like to thank AT&T for providing us with a copy of the “AT&T Samsung Galaxy Mega”.
