Shipments of ‘phablets’ – usually small tablets with phone capability – are expected to reach 60.4 million units by 2013, a 136% increase from 25.6 million units shipped in 2012, and will further increase to 146 million units by 2016. That’s according to a report by IHS iSuppli Mobile Handset Displays market tracker.
The report revealed that the availability of low-temperature polysilicon liquid crystal display (LTPS LCD) with reduction in prices for large-size and high-resolution smartphone displays, will boost shipments of larger smartphones in the next few years.
IHS iSuppli director of small and medium displays Vinita Jakhanwal said that the move to offer larger-display smartphones reflects the efforts of both device and panel makers to differentiate their products. "With consumers demanding more lifelike viewing experiences, the trend to offer such devices makes perfect sense, especially considering the increase in rich content that is being made available on smartphones," Jakhanwal added.
Chinese phone makers are in the lead in the category of the 5inch and larger smartphones, while vendors attacking the space inlcude Huawei, Lenovo and Samsung.
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