Nokia has plans for a big screen 6-inch Windows Phone codenamed "bandit".

Nokia, renowned mobile phone supplier, is reportedly working on a 6-inch Windows Phone codenamed "Bandit," which is likely to debut later this year. With the growing competition in the mobile market, every manufacturer in the business is looking to gain superiority. South Korea's Samsung Electronics that replaced Nokia as the world's biggest phone making company started the trend of big screen phones otherwise known as "phablets," a tablet PC with the functionality of a phone.

According to The Verge, "sources familiar with Nokia's plans" have revealed that a 6-inch Windows Phone smartphone is in testing that includes a 1080p display and which will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor. So far, Nokia has only launched its 4.7-inch Lumia 625, which takes the title of the company's biggest smartphone. But in a consumer driven market, where huge screens are widely accepted, the company must come up with something more.

If the rumors are true then the smartphone will be the first of many 1080p Windows Phone devices, says the report.

Nokia's bandit is likely to feature at least 20-megapixel camera with a lens posture similar to that of Lumia 925. We can count on the camera quality to be better as this marks the beginning of a new phablet era for Nokia. The company pitched its Lumia 925 smartphone camera against Apple's iPhone 5 and guaranteed better picture quality.

The phone is currently in the testing phase, undertaken by AT&T, with an expected launch later this year.

Even if Nokia unveils its large-screen smartphone anytime later this year, it will have to compete with Samsung's latest 6.3-inch phablet "Mega" in the U.S. and also Sony's 6.4-inch Xperia X Ultra smartphone.