At a time when phablet legitimacy is far from a foregone conclusion, the original Galaxy Mega seems like a joke. It is oversized and underpowered by most measures, but we love it all the same thanks to an aggressive price and the unexpected joys with having such a massive display on tap at a moment's notice. What a difference a year makes, though, as now even Apple and Google are making an extra-large smartphone for the masses. Context is key for Mega Galaxy 2: It was not the greatest smartphone around and, with only a small upgrade to the original, the $ 149.99 (with contract) price is not particularly compelling. AT & T sells the Galaxy Note 3 last year for the same price, and phone 2 Mega superior in every way. And stepping up to $ 249.99 gets you the Nexus 6, which is our favorite big-screen phone.Design, Features, and Quality Call
The Mega 2 is a midrange device, so you are still stuck with chintzy faux-chrome rim Samsung and stitched-up faux-leather back. It was a disappointment compared to the newer design language of Note 4, but the Mega 2 is at least solidly built. Using a smaller screen, 2 Mega this year is slightly more manageable than 6.44 by 3.34 by 0.34 inches (HWD) and 6.84 ounces. It does not feel quite as well balanced as the Nexus 6, though, and one handed operation is out of the question. Back peels off to reveal a removable battery and microSD card slot 2,800mAh.
Curious, Samsung went with the smaller 6-inch LCD-originally had a 6.3-inch AMOLED panel, but stayed with the same resolution 1280-by-720-pixel. It is imperceptibly Skinner (245ppi), but easily outclassed by Note 3 1080p display and the Nexus 6 of 2560-by-1440-pixel display. Pop the colors still has the typical Samsung levels of saturation, but the screen is not particularly bright and struggles to direct sunlight. White look more clean from all angles, one advantage of choosing LCD over AMOLED, but difference is not very noticeable as here.
AT & T, the Mega 2 connects to 3G GSM (850/900/1800 / 1900MHz) and 4G LTE (Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 17, and 29) networks. Reception and speed are in line with what you saw in other recent AT & T phone. Call quality is good in my tests, with warmth and richness of shipping via mic and clear audio through the earpiece. Noise cancellation is only average, rendering my voice a little shaky and robotic under certain noisy conditions.
Rounding out the options the dual-band 802.11a / b / g / n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and NFC. Wi-Fi speed is good, but not yet at the level of Note 4, featuring 2x2 MIMO ability to effectively doubles the speed of the appropriate networking equipment. The Mega 2 had no issues connecting to an Era by Jawbone Bluetooth headset, which is good because it seemed ridiculous for phone calls matter.
On a battery rundown test, in which we streamed a video on YouTube over LTE with the screen brightness set to max, the Mega 2 lasted for 4 hours, 49 minutes. That was pretty disappointing compared to Note 4 of 7 hours, 56 minutes, but corresponds to 4 times the iPhone 6 Plus, 46 minutes.