Apple Inc. (AAPL): Will It Warm to the Idea of a ‘Phablet’?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) strategized itself into ignoring the “netbook” space when that was the big thing in the tech world years ago, and it worked out well as Apple brought to market the iPhone that revolutionized the smartphone market, and later the iPad, which essentially introduced the tablet market. So what would happen if those two devices were thrown into a blender to create a new market segment?

You have the “phablet,” a hybrid of a phone and tablet – a term that was coined by those in the tech press who were, to put it mildly, skeptical of this new device.  The device, which is defined as a larger phone/smaller tablet with a phone that measures between five to seven inches diagonally. While the new iPhone 5 by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is closer to that size, as is the newly released iPad Mini. But Samsung is the first major brand to produce a so-called “phablet” with its Galaxy Note, which has been immensely popular (10 million units sold by the end of summer 2012).

And a recent story in Reuters predicts that the “phablet” space  is due to explode in the next couple of years, with it becoming a $130 billion segment by 2015 (which would mean 70-percent growth each year until then), and that more than 140 million of these devices are due to move in 2013 and more than 400 million in two years.

With those numbers, and Samsung introducing the Galaxy Note II recently that has already cleared 5 million sales, and with several other companies due to launch their own phablets (HTC, Huawei, Vizio, LG and Lenovo as examples) in the coming months, there is a begging question for the growing segment: Will Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) jump in anytime soon?