Smartphone+tablet! That's a phablet

BANGALORE, INDIA: According to research firm ABI Research, despite the slow start of phablets in 2011, the market will soon see the trend of phablets coming in. Phablet is a hybrid device that is larger than a smartphone but smaller than a tablet, like the Samsung Galaxy Note. Phablets have  a touch screen size between 4.6 to 5.5 inches and it is expected to have more than 20.8 crore units shipped globally in 2015, as per ABI Research.

Joining Samsung's Galaxy Note and Nexus, other market players like HTC, LG and Huawei will launch phablet smartphones in 2012. Samsung had released Galaxy S3, a phablet smartphone earlier this month.

"One of the chief drivers for phablets is the amount of time people use their smartphones for web browsing, reading articles and newspapers on the go, or simply navigating their journeys. The larger screen sizes make a significant difference to the user's experience when compared to conventional-sized touchscreens between 3.5 to 4 inches,” says senior analyst Joshua Flood.

Phablets could see serious competition from the larger smartphone and tablets which measure less than seven inches. Global shipments for phablets will increase by a factor of 10 in 2012 from 2011.