Mobile World Congress 2013 is set to take place next month and we’re expecting to be bombarded with a barrage of new mobile devices like the LG Optimus G2 and the Samsung Galaxy S4. But that’s not all. It looks like Samsung is preparing an 8-inch variant of its Galaxy Note series and that will be formally unveiled at the Barcelona trade show too.

But why eight inches? Well, the current rumor is that the Galaxy Note II will be succeeded by a 6.3-inch Galaxy Note III. And then there is already the Galaxy Note 10.1 with its 10.1-inch display. If Samsung were to go with something in the 7-inch range like the Nexus 7, it’d be a little too close to the Note III. And so, the 8-inch Galaxy Note tablet would be better suited as the “in-between” option, sizing up similarly to the Apple iPad Mini.

Just because this tablet is smaller than its 10.1-inch cousin doesn’t mean that it’ll come up short on specs, though. We’re hearing that the new Note 8 will boast 2GB of RAM, a 5MP rear camera, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and a screen resolution of 1280×800. It’ll likely have a quad core processor too. The great thing is that this isn’t just a rumor, as word of the 8-inch Galaxy Note tablet is coming by way of Samsung mobile chief JK Shin in an interview with iNews24 of Korea.

Samsung has always had the habit of making mobile devices in just about every screen size possible–it helps when you make your own screens–so an 8-inch Note sounds perfectly plausible.

Via BGR