According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, South Korean vendors, Samsung and LG, dominate global phablet shipments today. The two companies are seeding the market with multiple large-screen phones over 5 inches (e.g. Samsung Galaxy Note 2). The emerging phablet category is valuable to display makers like Samsung Display, LG Display, Japan Display, Sharp, Chimei and AUO. How big will the phablet segment grow in 2013? How large is the installed base? Which brands are the leading phablet vendors? Which operating systems have the highest marketshare? This research note, available to clients, answers those questions and more.

Total global handset sales will reach 1.6 billion units in 2012. Consumers have a wide variety of handset-types available for purchase. Postpaid users are upgrading to phablets and superphones, while prepaid consumers are upgrading to feature phones and smartphones. The phablet segment looks promising as a high-growth market, which we forecast to expand an impressive +88% in 2013, bolstered by models like Samsung's Galaxy Note. More details for our phablet forecasts by region can be downloaded by clients of our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) servce here.