A couple of years ago, the idea of a “phablet” seemed to be quite daft. Many gadget enthusiasts were sharing the same opinion, claiming that the (original) Samsung Galaxy Note would probably be dead on arrival. The handset in question was too large to be called a smartphone, but not large enough to be considered a tablet – hence the use of the term “phablet.” Regardless of dissenting opinion, the idea caught on in a big way – spawning over-sized devices from just about every phone manufacturer other than Apple. In a testament to the undying popularity of phablets, it was only a few weeks ago when Samsung released the 3rd iteration of the Note phablet..
In following the phablet boom, Sony has released the Xperia Z Ultra, LG has the stylus-equipped G Pro Lite, and HTC has recently lifted the veil on the “supersized” (as the manufacturer calls it) HTC One Max.
But what about the other ecosystems? Apparently, phablets seem to feel at home in the Android niche. Will we ever get to see a phablet running on iOS or Windows Phone? Well, Apple hasn’t really given any signs regarding the matter, but Nokia is currently preparing a 6-inch Windows Phone 8 device.
Nokia Lumia 1520 – The First Windows Phone Phablet
During the past several weeks, there have been a lot of reports indicating that Nokia is working on launching its first ever Lumia phablet. This will also be the first WP-running smartphone to arrive with a large display.
Dubbed the “Lumia 1520,″ this particular device has lately enjoyed its fair share of leaks. Some leaks have arrived in the form of photos, where the 1520 has been juxtaposed with smaller devices such as the Lumia 1020 and even an iPhone.
While the Lumia 1520 is not yet official, the handset’s existence is all but confirmed by Nokia itself. Apparently, the device has already been certified by China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, and it has also appeared at the FCC, where the handset seemed to be compatible with AT&T’s network (unsurprisingly, given the close collaboration between the aforementioned carrier and the Finnish company).
Nokia has also confirmed that it will hold an event on Monday, October 22, and although the mysterious Lumia 1520 has not been mentioned in the press invites, previous rumors have suggested that the Finnish manufacturer will indeed unveil the phablet on that day – next to five other devices.
Nokia Lumia 1520 – Rumored Specifications
You may be wondering what the Lumia 1520 is all about, and as mentioned above, we’re hoping that we’ll all find out the official details in just a few days. But until then, we can safely speculate (based on previous leaks) that the handset in question will feature a 6-inch display boasting a resolution of 1080 x 1920, resulting in a pixel density of 367 PPI.
Additionally, the device is said to pack a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, and interestingly enough, this bit of inside information has been provided by Qualcomm itself through a tweet. Since the Snapdragon 800 CPU will be on-board, we suspect that the gadget should also take advantage of 4G/LTE network speeds, where applicable.
Furthermore, the Lumia 1520 is apparently going to pack either 32 or 64 GB of internal storage, expandable with the help of a microSD card slot. Underneath the back panel will be a generous 3,400 mAh battery that is sure to keep the handset up and running for a decent amount of time.
In the media department, Nokia’s phablet is said to arrive with a 20.7 MP main camera boasting Carl Zeiss lens, delivering optical image stabilization, improved panorama and 1.8x lossless zoom. Chances are that the camera will be roughly similar (if not the same) as the one that has been fitted on the recently launched Lumia 1020.
On the software side of things, the 1520 is expected to arrive with Windows Phone 8.1 out of the box, and possibly a new GDR3 update which will offer support for full HD screen resolution and the usage of a quad-core processor (instead of the regular dual-core standard delivered by WP-powered smartphones).
Nokia Lumia 1520 – Rumored Price and Availability
Once again, nothing is set in stone at this point, but according to reports, the Nokia Lumia 1520 will go on sale sometime in November, after the official announcement which will allegedly take place on October 22 in Abu Dhabi.
Supposedly, AT&T will be the first carrier to launch the device in the US in November, at the price of $299.99 on-contract, or $699.99 without one. The handset will then be scheduled for a global launch which will take place at the beginning of December.
All in all, we’re quite excited for this handset’s arrival, and it sure looks like the Lumia 1520 could be the very first Windows Phone smartphone to deliver hardware specs similar to what the top-tier Android devices have to offer. Would you be interested in purchasing the rumored Lumia 1520?
Vlad Andrici is editor for gforgames.com and writes about technology issues. Follow Vlad on Google Plus.