Smartphone-tablet hybrids, also known as phablets, are quickly gaining popularity and their global shipments might surpass portable PCs this year and outpace tablets by next year, the International Data Corp said on Wednesday.
Phablets refer to smartphones with screen sizes from 5.5 inches to less than 7 inches.
First emerging in 2012, this category of smart device has seen sales pick up steam as consumers spend more time watching videos and playing games on mobile devices.
In the market researcher’s latest industry report, IDC said global phablet shipments are estimated to reach 175 million units this year, compared with the shipment forecast of 170 million for portable PCs this year.
IDC said that total phablet volumes next year are likely to top 318 million units, surpassing the 233 million tablets set to ship in the year.
“With Apple expected to join the space in the coming weeks, we anticipate even more attention on phablets as larger screen smartphones become the new norm,” IDC senior research manager Melissa Chau said in a statement.
The researcher forecast phablets would grow from 14 percent of the global smartphone market this year to 32.2 percent in 2018.
Last week, Taipei-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) predicted that tablets, which first emerged in 2010, would be likely to experience an annual decline in global shipments this year for the first time as their novelty seems to have worn off and the pressure from larger smartphones increases.
Global shipments of brand-name tablets are expected to drop by an annual 1.8 percent this year to 153 million units, TrendForce forecast.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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