That's not to say Apple is doomed if it doesn't get into the so-called phablet business.
Those who'd rather go for a Samsung phablet than HTC's aren't left out, either.
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Samsung single-handedly created a new product category, the "phablet, " in 2011 with its Galaxy Note.
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Interesting piece yesterday from Eric Savitz, Forbes Tech Editor on the need for an Apple phablet.
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Mr. Flood says it is "highly unlikely" he'll need to amend upwards his phablet standard again.
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To one side, the phablet that gives people a bit of the tablet and phone in one.
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They add to the so-called "phablet" category, as manufacturers test how big customers are willing to go.
The Galaxy S4 has a 5-inch screen, while Samsung's Galaxy Note II "phablet" has a whopping 5.5-inch display.
His personal and professional life now revolves entirely around a Samsung Galaxy Note II phablet clad in a pink case.
Samsung helped popularise the so-called "phablet" category - in which phones approach tablet dimensions - with its original 5.3in Galaxy Note in 2011.
This provides a new twist on the definition of a "phablet, " one that springs from the tablet side rather than the phone side.
The term "phablet" has always been, at best, a relative descriptor.
Football4PDA, who's developing a reputation for uncanny accuracy in leaks, has posted what's claimed to be the core specifications of HTC's first phablet.
Just over a month removed from launching its latest phablet, Samsung is reporting the Galaxy Note II has already racked up sales of 3 million units.
ENGADGET: Samsung: Galaxy Note II has sold 3 million units worldwide
We've been hearing about a certain 5-inch HTC phablet for Verizon since July, but it looks like its Japanese counterpart may actually hit the market first.
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It's verging on phablet territory with a 5-inch screen (800 x 480 resolution), and running the whole show is a dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 processor and half a gig of RAM.
Josh Flood, an ABI analyst, says after seeing more big phones hit the market, he amended the upper end of what qualifies as a phablet to 6.5 inches from 5.5 inches.
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Taking into account that a reliable source of ours got to see HTC's 5-inch 6435LVW phablet recently, this would make the Find 5 unofficially the second device to receive the same full HD panel.
"Despite tough competition in stores and courtrooms, Samsung continued to deliver numerous hit models, from the high-end Galaxy Note2 phablet to the mass-market Galaxy Y, " wrote Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, in a press release.
While we'd love to see the Galaxy Note 2, the odds of it being the mystery device are incredibly slim since the phablet is rumored to launch on the worldwide stage at IFA 2012 later in the month.
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There have also been long-running rumors that we will see Nexus hardware from more than one manufacturer, although lately whispers have focused on the possibility of a 5-inch phablet from HTC, and a 10-inch Nexus-branded tablet made by Samsung.
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While Apple deliberates on the specifications for its iPhone 5S, Samsung has launched the S4, will soon launch a new Note phablet and has a new generation tablet out there too as well as becoming more adept at software updates.
With increasing handset size, the possibility of one-handed use and the line between what defines a tablet or a phone (or even a phablet) becomes narrower, making it harder for manufacturers to stand out on hardware alone in an already crowded marketplace.
Reitzes sees China as the key battleground for the larger form factor, not the USA, so how Apple and its rivals shape up outside America will be key to his idea that Apple stands to make a substanttial gain from a phablet.
FORBES: Will Making An iPhone Phablet Hurt Apple More Than It Will Help?
Confirmed to ship sometime this holiday season, this variant of Samsung's phablet refresh sports a 5.5-inch 1, 280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED display, 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 8-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video capture, beefy 3, 100mAh battery and, of course, a refined S-Pen.
ENGADGET: Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE (update: video)
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