Nokia is reportedly planning to unleash a Windows Phone-based "phablet" device, similar in size to Samsung's 5.5-inch Galaxy Note but with better specifications.

The Finnish company invested significant efforts and resources into reviving its business, and placed its bets on the Windows Phone platform rather than the outdated Symbian. Nokia's current flagship smartphone is the Lumia 920, which sports a decent 4.5-inch display.

According to a new Financial Times (FT) report (Paywall), however, the Windows Phone flagship could soon have a bigger brother. The FT cites sources familiar with Nokia's plans, who claim the Finnish company is gearing up to release the device later this year.

The purported Nokia Windows Phone-based "phablet" seems poised to take on the Samsung Galaxy Note, but the FT's sources say the device will pack more "advanced specifications" than the Note. Other than that, the publication doesn't provide any additional details on the hardware.

The report further states that Nokia's new "phablet" will be part of its Windows Phone 8 Lumia lineup, which Nokia will be expanding this year with several high-end additions. Various persistent rumors suggested that the Lumia family may welcome a tablet, but that's not happening just yet. On the other hand, Nokia said it will keep its options open and consider a tablet at some point. For now, not even phablet plans received confirmation, and the company declined to comment on the new report.

It would make sense, however, for Nokia to move toward a phablet offering, especially after Samsung announced its LTE Galaxy Mega last week. The massive Samsung Galaxy Mega again pushes the limits of the emerging phablet market, and will be available in Europe and Russia from May.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega will come in two versions: the smaller of the two will sport a 5.8-inch display and 8GB of internal storage, while the larger one nears tablet dimensions with a huge 6.3-inch HD display and 8GB or 16GB options. With such whopping sizes, the displays on the two Galaxy Mega devices are closer to Apple's 7.9-inch iPad Mini than its 4-inch iPad 5, but they will likely compete on both fronts.

Nokia is still fighting for relevance and struggling to regain market share, but the increasingly obvious trend for larger displays might mean that a phablet is just what the company needs.