Samsung Galaxy Note 8 confirmed for February, S4 'soon'

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is official. The worst-kept secret in the world of oversized technology has been confirmed to take the stage next month, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be revealed "soon".

Samsung boss JK Shin spilled the beans on the heavily rumoured octo-Note to Korean newsmeisters News1 and iNews 24, but remained noncommittal about the S4. 

The Galaxy Note started out as a device that measured somewhere between a Galaxy smart phone and a Galaxy Tab tablet. The original Note measured 5.3 inches, and the Note 2 was 5.5 inches. Then along came the Note 10.1 and things got a little weird -- the biggest Note is now bigger than the smallest Tab.

As if that's not complicated enough, the last week has also seen rumours surface of a 5.8-inch dual-SIM phone-cum-tablet called, of all things, 'Fonblet'.

The difference between Tab and Note, by the way, is that the Notes come with an S-Pen stylus for writing and drawing on the screen, as well as Note-worthy apps. So that clears that up.

The Note 8 makes its debut at Mobile World Congress, the annual mobile industry trade show where the year's new phones and tablets take a bow. We're jetting off to Barcelona in force, so keep it CNET for all the new phones and tablets at the end of February. And while you're waiting, check out our 25 top Note tips.

There's still no word though on the date we'll see the hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4, which is likely to make its own debut later in the year so as not to be lost in the hustle and bustle of MWC. 

Is Samsung confusing things with its Tabs and Notes? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.