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Weighing the Phablet's Potential

How big is too big? Could phablets turn out to be more than the flash-in-the-pan many of us thought they were?

January 21, 2013
Review: T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II

Last winter, I made the long trip to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. A few weeks earlier at CES, Samsung had introduced its first "phablet," which is a large phone or small tablet, depending on how you look at it. Unfortunately, I was too busy to meet with Samsung at CES and get its vision for phablets, so at MWC, I made a point to talk with representatives about why the company decided to make a "tweener," instead of focusing on smartphones or tablets individually.

The Samsung officials said that the first Galaxy Note, with its 5.3-inch screen, was created to break new ground in smartphones. It was really designed for the Asian market, where products like this are valued. There are many consumers in these regions who like a small tablet and are OK with it also being a smartphone, too. Much to our surprise, Samsung sold 10 million Galaxy Notes in 2012 and is on track to sell around 20 million in 2013.

At this year's CES, Huawei introduced the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate, which also targets Asian markets. Like Samsung's Galaxy Note II, it will most likely end up in the U.S. market with at least one carrier sometime this spring. I got a chance to play with Huawei's phablet and was actually really impressed with its design. It is thin and sleek and it works well as an actual tablet. While it is awkward to hold up to your ear to use as a phone, it would be a great device when paired to a Bluetooth headset.

In talking with various execs, it was pointed out to me that these phablets will most likely gain the greatest acceptance in emerging countries where people cannot afford to buy both a smartphone and a tablet. Indeed, these markets will be ideal for phablets if the prices come down and are marketed as two-in-one devices.

There is another way to think about phablets that I believe is really important, though. We have been studying consumer usage models for decades and one thing that has really become clear is that people will have a lot of screens in their digital lives. Although their main screens will be their smartphone, tablet, notebook or PC, and TV, they could have a lot of other screens in the home or car that are connected to the Internet and their digital "stuff" in the cloud. And as we are learning, when it comes to our devices, screen sizes are highly personal; one size does not fit all.

In fact, the idea of forcing everyone to use the same smartphone screen size will become outdated very soon. It is true that people buy into platforms and ecosystems, but the screen size is often just as important to consumers when deciding which smartphone to purchase.

Although Apple has stayed consistent with the iPhone's screen size, its competitors have offered customers a wide array of sizes from which to choose. While 4.3-inch screens dominate the Android smartphone market today, there are some that are 4.7 inches, 5.1 inches, 5.3 inches, 5.7 inches, and even 6.1 inches, as we see with the Huawei Ascend phablet.

Interestingly, Apple in some ways has acknowledged the need for variations in screen size with the introduction of the iPad mini. In this case, demand for a smaller, more portable iPad drove Apple to jump into the smaller tablet market. Currently, Apple says that it feels that the 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5 is perfect because most people prefer to use just one hand to operate their smartphones. But will that sentiment change?

Many users I've talked to, especially older ones with deteriorating eyesight, say that they really like the larger screens and are starting to buy them in large numbers—thus the current increase in demand for large-display smartphones. This also reinforces the fact that one size does not fit all.

Truth be told, the phablet form factor could be simply too large for the U.S. market, where people want to carry their smartphones in their pocket or handbag. Also, in the U.S. market, the idea of carrying a smartphone and a tablet seems to be taking off, even if it means having to carry two devices. That could change over the next couple of years, though, as folks may decide they want to streamline their load.

Personally, I haven't cared much for phablets and have preferred a screen that lets me use my smartphone with one hand. Yet, when I was testing the Huawei's Ascend Mate, I could actually see myself using it more as a small tablet that happened also to have the capabilities of a phone. The notion of carrying just one device instead of a separate smartphone and small tablet is somewhat appealing to me.

It is probably too early in the life of phablets to predict their future, but I suspect that they will flush out this idea that one size does not fit all. As people inevitably amass more screens in their digital lives, perhaps a phablet that condenses what they have to carry with them will be attractive.

Also, if phablets do catch on, especially in emerging markets, Apple may have to release an offering in this space, too. And that shouldn't be a problem; Apple is good at sitting back, watching markets develop, and then swooping in with a superior product.

When Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note, I thought it was a gimmicky design with little potential. But considering the fact that the company could sell as many as 20 million Galaxy Notes this year and that there is potential demand in emerging markets, it seems phablets might turn out to be more than the flash-in-the-pan many of us thought they were.

For more from Tim Bajarin, follow him on Twitter @bajarin.

Tim Bajarin is one of the leading analysts working in the technology industry today. He is president of Creative Strategies (www.creativestrategies.com), a research company that produces strategy research reports for 50 to 60 companies annually—a roster that includes semiconductor and PC companies, as well as those in telecommunications, consumer electronics, and media. Customers have included AMD, Apple, Dell, HP, Intel, and Microsoft, among many others. You can e-mail him directly at [email protected].

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About Tim Bajarin

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Tim Bajarin

Tim Bajarin is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts, and futurists covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. Mr. Bajarin has been with Creative Strategies since 1981 and has provided research to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry including IBM, Apple, Xerox, Compaq, Dell, AT&T, Microsoft, Polaroid, Lotus, Epson, Toshiba, and numerous others. Mr. Bajarin is known as a concise, futuristic analyst, credited with predicting the desktop publishing revolution three years before it hit the market, and identifying multimedia as a major trend in written reports as early as 1984. He has authored major industry studies on PC, portable computing, pen-based computing, desktop publishing, multimedia computing, mobile devices, and IOT. He serves on conference advisory boards and is a frequent featured speaker at computer conferences worldwide.

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