Why phablets are becoming popular with students

VISAKHAPATNAM: If you've got it, flaunt it, is the mantra Gen Y lives by. And the latest trend taking college students by storm is the phablet, a gadget which has the features of a smartphone and tablet.

An increasing number of students are now giving traditional desktops and laptops a miss to connect with the latest that technology has to offer. Endorsing the trend, Andhra University student Govind said, "Earlier I was using a smartphone and also had a tablet but later realised that a phablet was better as you can make calls and use it as a tablet as well. I switched over to one and it has made life easier!"

Shravan Kumar, a third year student of AU College of Engineering, who is soon planning to graduate to a phablet, says, "The processing speed is high, you can access the internet much faster and on the go. You can connect to social networking sites, make presentation, play games, watch movies, videos, listen to songs and all that at an affordable cost, " said Kumar.

The trend has sent cash registers ringing at electronics store in the city.

Nageshwara Rao, another electronics goods showroom owner, confirmed a similar spurt in sales. "Phablet sales have shot up by 35% over the past month or so. There is a demand for phablets across models and price ranges. About six months ago, it was more of smartphones that were in demand. Today, the phablets are giving them a run for their money." The price of phablets starting from Rs 6000 is also a major draw.

"Ever since phablets hit the market, smart phone sales have dipped. Last month we sold about 100 smartphones and about 25 phablets as against around 150 smartphones per month earlier."