Samsung working on a 12.2-inch tablet for Q3 2013: Report

After reports indicating the possibility of Apple working on a 12.9-inch tablet, the latest buzz is around Samsung developing a 12.2-inch tablet of its own.

According to Korean website ETNews.com (via SammyHub), Samsung Display and Sharp will supply about 2.5 million 12.2-inch panels to Samsung Electronics for a new device. The report also claims that the displays will be made by Sharp and will be based on IGZO (Indum-Gallium Zinc Oxide) technology. They'll sport a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels and will come with an S Pen stylus, which is usually bundled with devices under the Galaxy Note series. Samsung is likely to launch the tablet in the third quarter of 2013.

Previously, the same website had reported that Apple was working on a new larger iPad with a 12.9-inch diagonal screen that would be called iPad Maxi. It had said that this iPad variant would launch in the first half of 2014 and would take on Ultrabooks. It would also target the educational market with digital textbooks. The website had cited industry sources to report that Apple was in talks with display and component manufacturers in Korea for supplies for this tablet.

While Samsung offers devices across all sizes with its tablets coming in 7-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch screen form factors, Apple only offers the iPad in 9.7-inch and the iPad mini in 7.9-inch screen sizes. Considering that portable laptops start with 11-inch screens and offer a more complete computing experience as they come with a keyboard, we're not sure if going above the 10-inch screen size would help companies bring new customers with jumbo sized tablets. The laptops and Ultrabooks also offer a desktop OS and more connectivity ports. On the other hand tablets are limited in this aspect but focus more on portability. Perhaps these tablets will target niche markets including the educational market and design professionals.