2013 is the Year of the Phablet

CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2013 is one of the first chances we get to see what the year has to offer in terms of technology. Things, it seems, are getting bigger than ever this year, 100+ inch TV's with technologies such as 3D put on the back burner and Ultra HD bought to the forefront, and hybrid smartphone / tablets that may just cause repetitive strain injuries to your delicate digits.

Of course, what we're mostly interested in is exactly what Android goodies are just around the corner in 2013. Whether they're big, small or just rather unusual, we want to know.

Phablets, as extra large smartphones have become known, are swelling to a bigger size than ever before. It seems that 5 inches is just not enough for consumers hell bent on enjoying the best of both worlds; a phone and a decent screen on which to enjoy gaming, web browsing and videos. Maybe evolution will catch up with mobile technology and make our hands the size of spades so that we can eventually be the proud owner of 10 inch phones. Who knows?

I personally own a HTC One X+, whose 4.7 inch screen is just about manageable for my average size female hands. Even so, I have had to develop new ways of holding this marvellous device otherwise I feel the pressure between my thumb and index finger (think medieval stretching racks).

Huawei, the little known, but extremely well established and competitve Chinese telecommunication giant, has announced its very own 2013 Phablet. It comes with the Moniker Huawei Ascend Mate, and it has a Super IPS+ LCD screen measuring a whopping 6.1 inch with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The screen is protected from scratches with Corning Gorilla Glass.

Aside from the size increase, some of the other specs are not exactly groundbreaking. A quad-core 1.5 GHz CPU powers this oversized beast, there is an 8 MP rear facing camera, a 1 MP front facing snapper, and it runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS. It has 16 GB of onboard storage plus a microSD slot for up to a further 32 GB of memory. It's also rather portly (9.9 mm) compared to Samsung Galaxy Note II's girth of 9.4 mm. All rather last year.

On the plus side the battery capacity is rather impressive at 4050 mAh offering a huge 22 hours of talktime. The other big plus is that Huawei price there products competitively, so this phablet should be within reach of even more consumers.

Sony are also set to make their mark in the phablet arena, with news of Sony Xperia Z / ZL. It has a 5 inch TFT scratch resistant screen with a resoltuion of 1080 x 1920 pixels, substantially better than Huawei Ascend Mate's resolution, and a whole host of other bang up-to-date specs. As with the Huawei Ascend Mate, the CPU is a 1.5 GHz quad-core affair, and it has 16 GB of storage built in with a microSD slot so that you can add up to a further 32 GB.

It lags behind Huawei where the battery is concerned with a capacity of 2330 mAh, which will give you up to 11 hours talktime. It is however, a rather slim Jim with a waistline of just 7.9 mm.

Sony Xperia Z excels in the camera department, with an amazing (in Android terms) 13.1 MP rear facing camera and a 2 MP front facing camera. There is a whole host of camera goodies including a self timer, to ensure the perfect picture is captured every single time. It's getting easy to see how camera companies such as Jessops are biting the dust now that smartphones effectively house professional cameras within them. It is also rugged, being water and dust proof certified to IP 57.

Lenovo, another lesser known smartphone manufacturer have a 5.5 inch phablet on its way that goes by the name of Lenovo K900. It has an IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels that's protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. It is petite with a depth of just 6.9 mm, and like the Sony Xperia Z it has a huge 13 MP rear facing camera and a 2 MP front facing affair for video calls etc.

The CPU on K900 has shrunk a little however, being just 1.8 GHz dual-core, so it's not going to be quite as nifty as the aforementioned quad-core phablets. We will have to wait and see if this Intel-based, larger than your average smartphone beauty reaches UK shores, as at this time it's uncertain where it's bound for.

ZTE Grand S, yet again from a huge but little known manufacturer is another on the 2013 phablet list. It proudly sports a 5 inch screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, and a body thickness of just 6.9 mm. As with most of the others it has 16 GB of onboard storage and a microSd card slot for a further 32 GB memory. It also has a premium 13 MP rear facing camera and a 2 MP front facing snapper.

It has a decent 1.7 GHz quad-core CPU under the hood, which coupled with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), will make this speedy to say the least. The battery capacity is as yet unclear, but it will be a non-removable affair.

Last but not least in the phablet invasion is another offering from Huawei. Huawei Ascend D2 has a 5 inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and it's protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. Like Sony Xperia Z, this phablet is another rugged variant, being both water and dust proof. Like Huawei Ascend Mate it's portly with a depth of 9.4 mm.

Unlike the others it has 32 GB of storage but there is an absence of a microSD slot, so you can't add extra memory via a card. Akin to most of the phablets it boasts a 13 MP rear facing camera and its front facing camera is 1.3 MP, which although less than most, is still an improvement on last years fron facers that were usually VGA. It has a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, and a respectable battery capacity of 3000 mAh, giving you up to 144 hours standby.

It's safe to say that there will be a huge amount of people sporting these phone / tablet monsters as the months roll by. They just better make sure that their bags / pockets are equally as large!