Samsung has seemingly let slip its 2013 mobile roadmap, outlining the company's handset lineup for the first half of the year.
It seems that TechnoBuffalo managed a sneak peek at Samsung's upcoming portfolio including the Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Pocket Plus, Galaxy Young, Galaxy Grand, and Galaxy X Cover 2.
The Galaxy Note 8.0 revelation is somewhat undercut by the spec sheet that leaked earlier this month, followed by Samsung confirming the 8-inch tablet's appearance for MWC 2013.
The roadmap confirms those leaked specs, with a 1280 x 800 TFT LCD display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a quad-core 1.6GHz processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front camera, 4600mAh battery, and the S Pen stylus.
We also now have a launch timeline for the Galaxy Note 8.0, which should arrive in March with either 16GB or 32GB of storage in both 3G and Wi-Fi flavors.
Big in February
The leaked roadmap reveals that February will see the launch of two of Samsung's larger handsets with the Galaxy X Cover 2 and the Galaxy Grand.
The Galaxy X Cover 2 is a 4-inch follow-up to last year's rugged Galaxy X Cover, coupling a dual 1GHz processor and Android 4.1 with a dustproof and waterproof case. It also features a 5-megapixel rear camera to bring it up with other Galaxy smartphones, along with 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a 1700mAh battery.
The Galaxy Grand takes on a larger task, offering a 5-inch WVGA display with dual SIM card support. It will also pack a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with Android 4.1, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front camera, 8GB of storage, and a 2100mAh battery.
Both the Galaxy Grand and Galaxy X Cover 2 are slated for February, so we may even see them arrive before MWC 2013 in Barcelona.
Return of compact smartphones
Samsung also has a duo of smaller form factor smartphones up its sleeve with the Galaxy Pocket Plus and Galaxy Young.
The Galaxy Pocket Plus offers a 2.8-inch display and runs Android 4.1 with an 800MHz processor, 2-megapixel camera, and 4GB of storage. A single SIM model was supposed to launch this month, while a dual SIM card handset is slated for February.
Jumping ahead to April then sees a new version of Samsung's Galaxy Young handset, a 3-inch Android 4.1 smartphone for a budget with 4GB of storage and a 3-megapixel camera.
To MWC 2013 and beyond
Missing from Samsung's first half of 2013 roadmap is the anticipated Galaxy S4.
The latest rumors point to Samsung skipping MWC 2013 with its flagship smartphone, instead favoring an unveiling at its own press conference in March for an April launch.
While it means more months of waiting for new Galaxy S4 details, the roadmap outlines four new smartphones and the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet for an expected MWC lineup. And without the S4 around, Samsung's other mobile hardware may now actually get their fair share of the spotlight.
