The term “phablet” has been around for little more than a year, but already it’s one of the most popular buzz words in the consumer electronics industry. The phone and tablet hybrid is lauded for the way it combines mobile communication with the functionality of a high-powered computation system, enabling end-users to easily browse the internet, watch videos, and navigate documents. Though the technology is relatively fresh to the scene, the Global Phablets Market is already netted at US$ 37.2 billion and at the rate it’s growing, that number is set to almost triple in size by 2016.
Presently, the APAC region is the leader in phablet adoption by a long shot with 43% of market share. This can be largely attributed to the number of emerging countries in the region, where many consumers cannot afford both a smartphone and a tablet or laptop therefore they opt for a combination of the two.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Americas are seeing comparatively low rates of phablet adoption at just over 20%. This is partially due to the rate of disposable income (many Americans prefer to buy separate smart phones and tablets) as well as the fact that so many consumers in this region use Apple’s iPhones, and Apple has not yet entered the phablet market. That said, as smart phone leaders like Samsung, LG, Sony and HTC inch in on Apple’s shares, there’s a good chance we’ll see a boom in phablet popularity too!
Also working in the phablet market’s favour are the smart phone habits of today’s electronics users. A recent survey by Business Insider shows that most people use their phones for an average of 119 minutes, but less than half of that time is spent talking or texting. The rest is used for internet browsing, e-mailing, and online games suggesting that producing a phone capable device that has emphasis on computational functions makes the most market sense from a consumer and vendor perspective!
So at the end of the day, are phablets as “fab” as the market’s current trends are currently suggesting? And is this segment in the consumer electronics worth investing in from a long-term standpoint?
As is always the case in the fast paced tech-world, only time will tell…but as of right now, it’s certainly looking optimistic for The Global Phablets Market.
For more information, view our 2012-2016 report on The Global Phablets Market.
