Next Samsung Galaxy Note phablet rumored to have a sub-six-inch screen

No need to buy a bigger bag, or to make sure you always have two hands free every time there's an incoming call, the next Samsung phablet will only have a 5.9-inch display.

Phablets are no doubt gaining traction in the smartphone market but their ungainly size is proving a barrier to widespread adoption. Even those consumers with bigger palms and longer fingers struggle to operate them single-handedly. And while the initial phablets boasted screens of 5 inches+, since January's Consumer Electronics Show, the number of companies unveiling phablets with 6-inch displays appears to be growing every day.

At the moment, the best phablet on the market is the Samsung Galaxy Note II, which, boasting a 5.5-inch screen is comparatively discreet compared to some of the offerings from ZTE, Ausus and Huawei that have followed in its wake. However, rumors have surfaced in recent weeks that the next Galaxy-branded phablet was set to follow suit.

This is all because when Samsung demoed a game pad for its Galaxy phones that could connect via Bluetooth or clamp directly on to a phone or phablet as part of its flagship smartphone launch extravaganza, many tech journalists noticed that it could house a phone with a screen of up to 6.3 inches, thus giving birth to the rumor that the Galaxy Note III, would be coming with a truly monster screen.

However, sources at the Korea Times, Sam Mobile and Unwired View are all claiming that the Galaxy Note III, which is being showcased to network carriers at the moment, will 'only' have a 5.9-inch display when it officially launches in September. However, that screen will be a full HD AMOLED screen (the same display technology in the Galaxy SIV). This means that Samsung will be able to reduce the size of the bezel around the display and could potentially increase screen size while keeping the device close to the same size as the outgoing Note II. The company essentially performed the same trick with the Galaxy SIV. Although it has a bigger screen, the device's footprint is almost identical to that of its smaller-screen predecessor.

The reason the game pad is so huge is because Samsung is planning to bring out a low-cost phablet to compete directly with a cut-price offering from Huawei which recently unveiled the Ascend Mate, complete with a medium resolution 6.2-inch screen.