Samsung SM-T2558: Is it a Smartphone or a 7-inch Tablet or a Phablet

Leave it to Samsung to launch a strange device – perhaps the first really true Phablet. This 7-inch, SM-T2558, device finally blurs the borders of a large smartphone or a small tablet. Going through TENNA (Chinese version of FCC), they added a Samsung SM-T2558 to its database and not only provided us with some pretty good specifications, but also some pictures. The dimensions are 191.1 x 99.7 millimeters – larger than any Samsung Galaxy Mega series.

Compared to other tablets from Samsung, it does have a stranger shape – it is taller and definitely narrower and we would have to call this a Phablet since it also appears to have the capability to make phone calls. It does appear that it was made specifically for China Mobile, but that doesn’t mean that Samsung may not decide to produce a similar product for other markets.

The Samsung SM-T2558 has a 7-inch LCD display with 1280 x 720p resolution – strange for a Samsung product. The brain of the Phablet is a SoC quad-core clocked at 1.2 GHz and it could be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, although no details were given. It is sporting 1.5GB of RAM and probably at least 8GB internal memory that can be expanded with a microSD card slot. It is also packing an 8MP camera on the back with a flash and a 2MP front facing camera for video chatting and selfies. For connectivity you have GSM, TD-LTE and TD-SCDMA and is running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, not the newest KitKat.

It will be interesting to see where Samsung is going with this device – did they want to make a tablet that just so happens to also make phone calls, perhaps in an emergency situation. I suppose if you use a Bluetooth headset, it would be an acceptable solution, but we have to ask if these devices are really necessary, although, if priced right, it may be a good device for emerging nations or low-income areas that cannot afford to purchase both a tablet and a cellphone. I just do not see Samsung bringing this to the U.S. – we can only hope.

Please let us know on our Google+ Page if you would be interested in a device such as the Samsung SM-T2558 – below is a size comparison between the SM-T2558 and the new Galaxy S5…as always we would love to hear from you.