phablet

Between the handset and ultra-portable notebook PC form-factors lies the realm of mobile computing. First explored commercially in 2007 with ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) and handheld mobile internet devices (MIDs), mobile computing merges the battery-powered versatility of handsets with the processing power and application versatility found in traditional PC systems. Today, the mobile computing market is most often associated with the emergence and rapid success of tablets.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said he is confident that the company's Lumia smartphones running Microsoft's Windows Phone can help the platform grab more market share, and said he is focused on the enterprise market as a major opportunity. However, analysts are worried that Nokia's lack of a 5-inch superphone to compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 may be holding the company back.

Two weeks after launching Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note II, Sprint Nextel is rolling out the phablet's first software update, introducing a new Multi-Window View feature that enables consumers to run two applications on-screen at the same time.

Verizon Wireless will launch the LTE-powered LG Intuition "phablet," its first device in the larger-than-a -smartphone-but-smaller-than-a-tablet category, giving LG a rare win over larger rival Samsung Electronics.