A model poses with the new Samsung Galaxy Note II tablet device during Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012 event in Berlin's Tempodrom hall ahead of the start of the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin, August 29, 2012. The IFA consumer electronics and home appliances fair will open its doors to the public from August 31 till September 5 in the German capital. Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski
The success of the original Galaxy Note (launched in 2011) and its replacement, the Galaxy Note II, which was launched in September, are
evidence that the word ‘phablet' will be around for a little longer.
It took the company less than 60 days to sell 5 million of its oversized handsets globally and Samsung now claims to have hit the 1 million mark in South Korea alone after being on sale for 90 days.
The figures prove that there is clearly a market for handsets with larger screens and so far Samsung has that market all to iteslf.
Therefore, it comes as little surprise that the majority of smartphone rumors regarding Sony, HTC and LG are focused on their own entry into the 5-inch-plus screen market in 2013. As the success of Samsung's other handsets underlines, where it goes, other Android handset makers follow.
To keep ahead of this emerging competition, Samsung is itself rumored to be developing a 6.3-inch Galaxy Note III to replace the current model, set to blur the lines even more between the smartphone and tablet categories and expected to be demonstrated in February at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.