BlackBerry not ruling out oversized ‘phablet’ device launch

BlackBerry has suggested it has
not ruled out launching its own ‘phablet’ handset, telling us the company is “paying
close attention” to the emerging market.

Sounding far from sold on the smartphone
turn tablet hybrid sector, BlackBerry has suggested that it is monitoring the phablet
market, failing to rule out the possibility of launching its own oversized
smartphone device.

“It is a question about what is
normal or what is socially acceptable,” Todd Wood, BlackBerry’s Senior Vice
President of design told TrustedReviews when questioned on whether a BlackBerry
phablet is in the works. He added: “All I can say is we will see. We pay close
attention to this sort of thing.”

Discussing the phablet sector and
the rise in 6-inch smartphones and above, Wood suggested that although some
might scoff at the possibility of a BlackBerry phablet, views on the sector are
changing so quickly, it could soon become an expectation. He stated: “The trend
at the moment is towards larger phones, but it gets to a point where it looks
funny and where it’s maybe too big but I think that perception can change.”

Highlighting his point, he added:
“We’ve talked a lot about other areas where we have seen this. Very large
tennis rackets or very large golf clubs, at first when you see them it ‘oh
gosh, what is that?’ but it then soon becomes very normal and what is normal is
when something adds benefit.” He reservedly added: “But it still has to fit
into your lives.”

Earlier this week, rumours of a
5-inch BlackBerry Z10 follow-on emerged, with the handset tipped to make a jump
from the Z10’s current 4.2-inch form factor to line up as a more direct Samsung
Galaxy S4 rival.

Although far from confirmed, such
reports would seem fitting with current trends, with even Apple having bowed to
consumer demands and increased the form factor of its leading smartphones in
the iPhone 5.