Galaxy Note 3 set for image stabilisation, Samsung hints

Samsung is rumoured to be considering packing optical image stabilisation (OIS) and maybe even optical zoom into its next jumbo super-phone, the Galaxy Note 3.

"We are pondering various technologies at this stage -- for example, OIS and shutter functions," an anonymous Samsung Mobile exec told Korean blog ET News. "But, nothing has yet to be confirmed, so we cannot conclusively say that those functions will be added to the Galaxy Note 3."

OIS is a mechanical gyroscope system that detects the movement of your hand and moves the camera's lens in the opposite direction, so your photo doesn't come out blurry. Common on dedicated cameras, it's a complex, expensive thing to cram into a phone, but the latest flagships such as the HTC One and Nokia Lumia 920 have managed it.

The Note 3 is likely to be revealed in September at the IFA tech show in Berlin -- that's where the last two stylus-packing Notes have been unveiled -- and it's a safe bet it'll look like a super-sized Galaxy S4.

Quite how big it will be isn't clear. Recent rumours have indicated either 5.9 or 6.3 inches, up from the Note 2's whopping 5.5 inches. When the first Note came out, it wasn't clear who'd use a phone that preposterously gargantuan, but it seems people love their mahoosive mobiles, and screen sizes have rocketed. The recnt Asus Fonepad, for example, is an astonishing 7 inches across -- it's literally a tablet with a phone built in.

As for its innards, I'd bet we'll see Samsung's cutting-edge eight-core Exynos5 chip, hopefully everywhere in the world this time -- Samsung snubbed power-hungry chipheads in the UK by putting a less exciting quad-core chip in the Galaxy S4 here.

Are you looking forward to stretching your mitts round a new Note? How big should it be? Give your hands a warmup by letting me know what you think in the comments, or over on our gigantic Facebook page.