Phablets Find Growing Interest Around the World

When the phablet—a portmanteau of “phone” and “tablet,” denoting a device that wasn't quite as big as a tablet yet not as small as a phone, yet containing functions of each—first emerged, there were many who thought that this device wouldn't go very far. Neither fish nor fowl nor good red meat, so to speak, there was the perception that the market simply wouldn't take a device that wouldn't clearly go one way or the other. But new reports from Accenture suggest that the blend is being well-received throughout a large portion of the world.

The Accenture study—titled the “2014 Accenture Digital Consumer Survey”, and addressing 23,000 respondents in 23 different countries--shows that 57 percent of consumers were planning to buy a smartphone this year. Of that fairly substantial margin, 48 percent were planning to pick up a phablet as opposed to a pure smartphone. Developing markets proved to be big hits for phablets, with 67 percent of customers in India interested, as well as 66 percent in China, and 65 percent in South Africa. Meanwhile, developed nations were significantly less interested, with 40 percent in the United States, 30 percent in Germany, and just 19 percent of Japan expressing likewise interest.

Yet the interest in phablets wasn't really precluding the interest in full tablets; 44 percent of respondents were also planning to buy a tablet PC this year, according to the study, and 72 percent of those planning to buy preferred a full-size version to the micro-mini-sized equivalents. Just 20 percent preferred the smaller, and eight percent didn't know either way.

Accenture's Managing Director of Communications, Media and Technology Group, David Sovie, offered up some commentary on the study, saying “The phablet screen size is hitting a sweet spot for a large percentage of consumers wanting more digitally connected lifestyles. To capitalize on this, consumer technology companies should consider adjusting their digital strategies, research and development investments, product roadmaps and supply chains to focus more on phablet business opportunities and less so, in some cases, on the conventional smartphone market.”

Indeed, putting more focus on the phablet market would seem to be a smart move here, particularly in developing countries. Larger form factors in portable devices are likely of a particular interest as there's something of a lower penetration in terms of desktop and laptop PCs. This in turn means that a lot of video is consumed on portable devices in developing countries, and as mobile data traffic grows in like number, that's going to put something of a little extra demand on devices with larger screens to better enjoy the video in question. There might also be an advantage toward stepping up mobile networks in those regions as well, as the growth in one market is likely related to and may even lead to growth in the other. With mobile devices actually seen to help out in terms of spurring literacy rates, that's a further impetus to help get such devices in place.

Still, it's clear that phablets have found a clear niche as a useful communications tool in developing regions. While this may not extend to developed nations, the end result is clear enough; phablets are big somewhere, and product developing and marketing efforts should have a very clear target in mind when it comes to making and selling new phablets.