#WTF: Are Phablets Really Phabulous?
Friday, August 30, 2013 at 6:00AM#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Fred Chauncy
The world has gone mobile. Gartner Research reports that 1.7 billion mobile phones were sold around the world in 2012. They predict 1.8 billion will be sold in 2013. They report 120 million tablets sold in 2012 and estimate 201 million sales for 2013. With many tablet owners also owning a mobile phone, the demand for consolidation has come. This may be the age of the "phablet". But does it have staying power?Too Big, or Too Small?
The phone/tablet combination, or phablet, a word you won't find yet in your spell checker, is technically a device that functions as a tablet and a phone with a screen roughly five to seven inches. Here lies the first problem. Is a seven-inch screen too big for a phone? Is a five-inch screen too small for a tablet? Manufacturers are still playing with the size and format to find the optimal dimensions.
A Great Tablet, or a Great Mobile Phone?
The point of phablets is not to build a better phone or tablet. The point is consolidation. With laptops, tablets and mobile phones becoming the standard choices for the tech-savvy consumer, combining two out of three devices means less to carry around.
So why not a laplet, or tabtop, laptop/tablet combination? It is easier for manufacturers to push the smartphone limits into the tablet arena, than to make a tablet function like a laptop.
Who Needs a Phablet?
On the surface, it would seem that only people who want to carry less gadgets would find this useful. But there is a more subtle niche where this device may exist. That is a niche where a person's lifestyle centers around this technology. Getting the news, watching videos, listening to music, doing research online, controlling the house, and staying connected through social media, email, text and phone are all things this device can do.
Besides the consolidation factor, this redefinition of lifestyle is also important. Since 2005, the length of the average phone call has dropped 50 percent, to 90 seconds according to Computer World. Texting, email and social networks are competing for the simple phone call.
This lifestyle change shouldn't be surprising. In just 20 years, we've gone from desktops, to laptops, to tablets, and from pagers, to mobile phones, to smartphones. Each step required people to change how they live and work with the new technology.
What to Expect
If you look at the Galaxy Note II, a popular phablet, you'll find a great tablet and a great mobile phone. The entire device is 5.9 inches by 3.2 inches. It performs as well as most high-end Android tablets. The phone is clear and works like a phone. For many people, this will be a two-handed device, being just a bit too large for single-handed operation. It's also too big to slip into your pocket. However, most tablets are too big for that. In many ways, this is the description of most of the phablets on the market. You get a great tablet and smartphone that's between the size of both.
Are Phablets Here to Stay?
Phone Arena says not to write off phablets as a fad, but perhaps not because of the interests of the U.S. consumer. It may be because of the developing mobile markets around the world. People elsewhere are not as eager to buy multiple devices when one will do.
Right now, phablets may be the choice of certain consumers well-versed in the use of technology throughout their lives. But there is little reason to think this technology is not the stepping stone to something even more useful.
Reader Comments (1)
Nice article! I'm happy with my 4" screen for now. I like the 16 hours talk time of my LG Optimus F3 and the fact it fits in my pocket while still letting me bend my legs. I can see where a phablet is useful though. I'm going to reach the point soon where I'll need a phablet or glasses or both. Thank goodness for innovation. Plus I've got a number of devices too and cutting down would be nice.