Phones get bigger, iPads smaller

Tablets are getting smaller ... smartphones are getting bigger

IT'S the world's biggest mobile phone event and yet this year it was dominated by another technology altogether: tablet computers.

Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona, was ruled by larger touchscreen gadgets for the first time last week, including tablets from big names in computing such as Samsung, HP, Sony, ASUS and Lenovo.

But rather than 10-inch creations designed to compete with Apple's market-leading iPad, many of these upcoming tablets are small enough to go unnoticed in a handbag or backpack, powerful enough to compete with a laptop and, in some cases, will even let users make phone calls.

Some smartphones did sneak into the trade show, however, with large, fast and unorthodox handsets grabbing attention.

Samsung kicked off the tablet trend with an 8-inch tablet called the Galaxy Note 8.0.

Mobile communications president JK Shin says the tablet is designed to be a "pioneering, pocket-sized solution" for mobile computer users.

The tablet features Google Android software, a stylus and, unusually, the ability to place phone calls.

InMobi spokesman Marc Fine says he is skeptical that "people will use tablets as phones" but says Samsung's move back into small tablets is a smart one designed to challenge Apple's iPad.

"Apple really owns that 10-inch tablet space," he says. "They've positioned themselves as a real leader and companies, including Samsung, know that the 7-inch tablet market is wide open."

But Samsung was not the only company to recognise the market opportunity.

HP showed off its second tablet at the event, and its first 7-inch model, with the HP Slate 7 designed to appeal to budget-conscious buyers at just $199.

ASUS also unveiled the 7-inch Fonepad - a device that delivers phone calls and promises to combine "all the features of a smartphone" with the "versatility" of a tablet - while Lenovo revealed two entry-level 7-inch tablets in the A1000 and A3000.Many of the tablets are due to arrive in stores around June.

A handful of new smartphones were unveiled in Barcelona this year, with most featuring expansive screens.

Huawei showed off a 4.7-inch phone, the Ascend P2, that promises a record-breaking 4G internet connection; Acer delivered a 4.5-inch Google smartphone in the Liquid E1; and ASUS took the trend to a new level with the PadFone Infinity - a 5-inch phone that fits into a 10.1-inch tablet display.

Telsyte research director Foad Fadaghi says the trade show proves that the trend towards big phones that began with the Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5 is unlikely to slow down.

"It's a continuation of a trend that we noticed last year in which tablets are getting smaller and smartphones are getting bigger," he says.

Despite the new releases, Fadaghi says many of the big phone makers have sought to hold individual product events this year to gain the most attention, including BlackBerry and HTC, leaving Mobile World Congress to host smaller, more unorthodox products.

This year they included a working example of the YotaPhone that offers an LCD screen on one side and an Electronic Ink display on the other, the Medias W smartphone from NEC featuring two 4.3-inch screens that fold out to create a larger display, and Fujitsu's New Generation GPS Cane that can show directions or a user's vital statistics in its handle.