Is Samsung's Galaxy Note Bigger than the iPhone?

It has been accused of being too big for its own good, but that hasn't stopped the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note from shipping five million units. Granted, “shipping” and “selling” are two very different things. It is possible that 20% to 30% of the five million Galaxy Notes are still waiting to be purchased. But the mere fact that consumer demand is high enough to inspire retailers to order that many devices is proof that Samsung is doing well. Best of all, the device shipped five million units in just five months, Engadget reports. While that achievement pales in comparison to the iPhone 4S, which sold four million units in a weekend and sold another 33 million in the following months, the Galaxy Note is still somewhat of a success story. As one of the largest (physically) smartphones available, Samsung has once gain proven that if it can't compete with Apple AAPL on the basis of individual models, it can do so by offering a multitude of shapes, sizes, and variations. But you have to wonder: was the Galaxy Note purchased solely by consumers who didn't want an iPhone at all, or by those who simply wanted a larger smartphone? If the latter proves to be the case, Apple might be wise to increase the size of the iPhone 5, as the current rumors suggest. Before shipping a new iPhone, however, Apple needs to figure out just how much it wants to increase the size of the device. The Mac maker can't make it too much bigger or consumers may be turned off. But if it doesn't increase the size at all, it runs the risk of losing ground to smartphone manufacturers who aren't afraid to go big. Then again, the size might not matter as much as exclusive features. The vast majority of iPhone 4S buyers were sold on Siri alone. If the iPhone 5 launches with upgraded software (Siri 2.0, perhaps?), expect Apple to repeat history this Christmas. Follow me @LouisBedigian