Coined early on by Korean technology firm Samsung, phablets strike the middle ground between smartphones and tablets that have made them ideal mobile devices for people who want to view more of their content without having to lug around a big-screen device.
According to IDC’s quarterly trackers for mobile phones, tablets, and PCs, phablets emerged as one of the most coveted devices for the second quarter of the year, with device vendors shipping a total of 25.2 million phablets during the period — or almost the same number of tablet and laptop shipments combined.
“Samsung was the first to succeed in phablets with the Galaxy Note launched in APEJ in 2011 Q4, capturing 90 percent of the phablet market. Fast forward to 2013 Q2, and Samsung’s Note series counts for less than 50 percent,” says Melissa Chau, Senior Research Manager with IDC Asia/Pacific’s Client Devices team.
IDC further noted that the number of phablet shipments doubled since the first quarter of the year, and jumped by 620 percent for the same quarter in 2012. It is worth noting that manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei, ZTE, HTC, and LG have simultaneously launched their phablet offerings during the Mobile World Congress in February, and shipping the models in the months after.
Though phablets started out as a trend, IDC noted that these devices measuring anywhere from five to seven inches are slowly going mainstream as manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei elevate the category to flagship status.
Samsung latest flagship phone — the Galaxy S4 — for instance measures a full five inches, with other manufacturers following suit and pushing the literal boundaries of their phone models to accommodate more screen real-estate.
But it’s not just multinational device makers that are making a killing on phablets, said IDC.
“What’s changed now is the added pick up of phablets in emerging markets like China and India, not just the plethora of big-name vendors competing head-to-head with Samsung, but instead the low-cost local players who have swooped in to offer big screens for less money – averaging a retail price of US$220 versus Samsung’s US$557,” Chau added.
In the Philippine setting, for example, local brands such as Cherry Mobile and MyPhone have made a killing out of big-screen phones such as the Cherry Mobile Blaze 2.0 and the recently launched MyPhone Iceberg, which both retail for just below P12,000 and have already made a killing in the local market.
“Phablets have proven to be more than just a short blip of a fad and will drive the region. Over the long term however, this does not mean that one size fits all. As tablets get more productive, and new categories such as smart watches evolve, IDC expects continued diversity among smart connected devices,” the research firm added.
source: interaksyon.com
