Huawei teases Samsung Galaxy Note 2 rival

Huawei has given the strongest hint yet that it's squaring up to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with an oversized phone.

Previous leaks have revealed that the Huawei Ascend Mate is to be a 6.1-inch behemoth of a phone-cum-tablet, and a Huawei boss has spoken out to apparently confirm the rumours.

Speaking on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter, a Huawei boss confirmed an oversized device for some time in the new year -- and posted that update from a Samsung Galaxy Note 2, as a way of getting to know the enemy.

The new device promises cooler industrial design, an eye-popping screen, a slimmer bezel with plenty of grip, and plenty of grunt under the bonnet while also improving battery life. I don't know how that would go down in Korea, but them's fightin' words round here.

Actual specs are thin on the ground, but we'll keep you posted as we learn more. 

Samsung invented the oversized phone / undersized tablet -- phablet, if you must -- with the original Note, a design that left us scratching our heads at first but has since proved highly successful, the Note 2 shifting 3 million devices already.

That success hasn't gone unnoticed, and Huawei isn't the first to tout its own take on the Note. HTC is planning the HTC Deluxe and LG has the LG Optimus Vu in the pipeline, while ZTE is rumoured to be working on the first Windows Phone phablet. 

If you have a Note and you want to get the most from it, or if you want to know what a phablet is good for, check out our 25 phablet tips.

Is the Note the future of tablets, or is one Note enough? Can Huawei do an HTC and rise to prominence in the phone world? Sketch your thoughts in the comments or on our oversized Facebook page.