Bigger Than a Phone, Smaller Than a Tablet: What's the Future Hold for Phablets?

Recent phablet sales have mobile device makers concerned the new smartphone-tablet hybrid poses a threat. This seemingly defies the skeptical reaction Gartner analysts expressed earlier this year, when it was reported that phablets had captured a 16.5 percent market share in India in 2012 and were expected to continue trending globally.

Was Gartner wrong, or is the phablet fad the wave of the future? Manufacturers certainly haven't been deterred by naysayers. For instance, T-Mobile has the Samsung Galaxy Note II and just rolled out the larger 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega. There are several reasons to think the confident expectations of companies such as Samsung are well-founded.

Versatile Viewing

If you've ever strained your eyes squinting at a cell phone, you can appreciate the fact that phablets are easier on the eyes. Recent surveys show smartphone users prefer an average screen size of 4.5 inches, halfway between an iPhone 5 and a Galaxy S4, and the majority also express a preference for larger screens than their current phones. Phablets negotiate this demand with screen sizes in the range of five to seven inches. For the average consumer who doesn't care to decipher microscopic text and graphics and for markets such as senior citizens who require enhanced visibility, a phablet's bigger screen gives it an edge over smaller devices.

Big Enough for Tablet Emulation

While the phablet's larger screen gives it an advantage over smartphones, it simultaneously poses a threat to tablets by imparting the power to emulate most features of the larger devices. Just as tablets hurt sales of e-reader devices (such as the Kindle) by offering the same capability with additional features, phablets are presenting a similar challenge to their bigger competitors. As illustrated by the Mega's 1.7 GHz processor speed and 1.5 GB of RAM, phablets can rival tablets in functionality, making their practical difference negligible for many users.

Still Small Enough for Portability
Despite the power they pack, phablets are sized to rival smartphones for portability. While most models are currently a bit big to be considered pocket-sized, some will fit in men's business pants, and manufacturers such as Dockers are actually starting to make pockets bigger to adapt to the growing popularity of phablets.

Entertainment on the Go
The demand for devices that can stream entertainment programming on the go is also driving phablet sales, especially to those who like to watch movies, play games and read e-books on their mobile device. Accordingly, Amazon may be poised to recapture its e-reader market share from tablet rivals by releasing a phablet-sized Kindle smartphone.

The Ideal Combination for BYOD

Finally, phablets' combination of consumer-friendly features with computing functionality makes them ideal for users working in a BYOD (bring your own device) environment. The rising demand for BYOD is driving production of security-hardened phablets, fueling a hot market unlikely to cool off soon.