Phablets – smartphones with large screens measuring between a conventional handset and a tablet – are not big enough for a growing proportion of Asia-Pacific consumers. Tablet-sized devices with the capability to place a mobile call are gaining more traction in the market, according to IDC.
The proportion of tablets with 7-inch screen sizes and above that have cellular voice capabilities crossed 25% of total shipments in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APeJ) region during the second quarter, the research firm said.
Around 13.8 million tablets shipped across APeJ during the quarter, and around 3.5 million of these had cellular voice capability built in.
While tablets allowing voice calls over cell networks has been around since at least the first generation Samsung Galaxy Tab, there has been a surge in both shipments and vendors supporting the capability since the start of the year, IDC said.
In some emerging markets, including India and Indonesia, shipments have reached close to 50% by share of the overall tablet market.
“This shift highlights the sustained interest among consumers, at least in emerging markets, to have a single mobile device for all their needs - be it watching movies and soap operas, taking pictures, texting or making calls - even if the device has a huge 7-inch screen on it,” IDC Asia/Pacific senior market analyst for client devices Avinash K Sundaram said.
“It also helps that these devices are quite affordable, playing in the entry-to-mainstream price bands in most markets... For now, it does look like the Asian love for bigger screens is set to continue.”
The market for tablets with voice calling capability is currently 100% controlled by Android, the research firm said.
This article originally appeared in Computerworld Hong Kong