A new report claims that Samsung is planning to announce a new and budget-friendly Galaxy Note 3 variant at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014.
Samsung is already off to a good start with sales of its Galaxy Note 3 phablet, which was released in October. The company has already shipped over 5 million of the S Pen-enabled phablets to consumers around the world. Prior to its official announcement, there were reports that Samsung was going to follow the Galaxy S4's game plan and release a few different Galaxy Note 3 variants.
One of those variants was rumored to be a budget-friendly Galaxy Note 3. It was believed that Samsung would be able to keep the cost down by using an LCD screen instead of the Super AMOLED display found on the current Galaxy Note 3. A new report claims that Samsung plans on unveiling the less expensive Galaxy Note 3 Lite at Mobile World Congress 2014 in February.
SamMobile has received information from a source that claims Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 3 Lite at MWC 2014 and its model number will be SM-N7505. Samsung is reportedly currently testing the phablet with both a 5.49 and 5.7-inch screen size. It is believed that Samsung will use an HD LCD screen in the Note 3 Lite, just as it did with the Galaxy S4 Active. It will also keep the cost of the device down by reportedly using an 8-megapixel rear camera instead of the high-end 13-megapixel shooter found on the Galaxy Note 3.
The site's source also claims that the Galaxy Note 3 Lite will be offered in the usual black and white color options. The device will reportedly go on sale in late February or March. The site was not given any specifics on the internal specs of the handset.
It's always advisable to take rumors of upcoming devices with a hefty grain of salt. If true, the Galaxy Note 3 Lite should further extend Samsung's lead in the phablet market by launching as a device that's more affordable than the flagship Galaxy Note 3 and with many of its features. For now, however, we'll file this in the rumor category.
