Phablets Are Just a Fad, Report Suggests

Samsung's Galaxy Note II phablet topped 5 million in sales after just two months on the market, but mobile analytics company Flurry thinks phablets are just a fad.

According to a Monday report from Flurry, mid-sized smartphones - or those that range in screen size from 3.5 inches to 4.9 inches - dominate the mobile device space.

In Feb. 2013, about 16 percent of mobile gadget owners were carrying a small phone, or one that had a 3.5-inch screen or smaller. About 69 percent had a mid-sized smartphone, 2 percent had a phablet (5 inches to 6.9 inches), 6 percent had a small tablet (7-8.4 inches), and 7 percent had a full-size tablet (8.5 inches and above).

While the oversized phablets are still in the early stages, Flurry predicted that they won't last long enough to really compete with smartphones or tablets.

"The 'is it a phone or is it a tablet' devices otherwise known as phablets have attracted interest, but currently command a relatively small share of the device installed base, and their share of active users and sessions is also relatively small," the report said.

Phablets are an Android game, though. At this point, the devices with 5- to 6.9-inch screens are Android-based; Apple's iPhone tops out at 4 inches, while the iPad mini lands at 7.9 inches.

Developers need to stay focused on devices that are most accepted and used by consumers — i.e. not phablets. Flurry's study pointed out that consumers prefer and use apps on medium-sized smartphones, like the earlier Samsung Galaxy lineup, and full-sized tablets like the iPad.

"Phablets appear to make up an insignificant part of the device installed base," Flurry said, "and do not show disproportionally high enough app usage to justify support."

That could change in the coming months, as Samsung's 5-inch Galaxy S4 smartphone rolls out globally.

Earlier this year, PCMag columnist Tim Bajarin reported from Mobile World Congress 2013 that most executives expected phablets to really take shape in emerging countries, where consumers can't afford to buy a smartphone and a tablet.