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HTC dumps plans for Windows Phone 8 phablet, says it ‘wouldn’t be competitive against Android’

Raymond Wong
HTC Windows Phone 8X
HTC Windows Phone 8X

As just about every major smartphone maker gears up to introduce their own 1080p-resolution Android “phablets,” one platform that apparently won’t be getting larger screens with higher resolutions is Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Phone 8. According to Bloomberg, HTC (2498) canceled plans to build a large-screened smartphone with Windows Phone 8 “because the screen resolution would have been lower than competing models” – 720 horizontal lines instead of 1080. The company recently released the Android-powered DROID DNA with 5-inch 1080p-resolution display in a svelte chassis and had plans to “claw back share from Samsung Electronics Co.,” with a large-screened WP8 smartphone. But Bloomberg reports HTC concluded large-screened WP8 phones “wouldn’t be competitive against Android devices from HTC, Samsung and others.”

[More from BGR: New BlackBerry 10 images show off home screen UI, notifications and key apps]

While there’s no standardized definition for what is a phablet and what is not, most people consider it to be a smartphone with a display of 5-inches or greater. Some firms such as ABI Research say any smartphone with a 4.6- to 5.5-inch display is a phablet. As you can see, the definition varies because a “large-screen” phone is completely relevant to an individual’s hand size.

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[More from BGR: How to launch Google Maps navigation using Siri without jailbreaking]

Stepping back, we’re not sure why HTC thinks that a 5-inch WP8 smartphone with 720p resolution wouldn’t be good enough to compete with Samsung’s (005930) Galaxy Note devices, considering neither the Galaxy Note or Galaxy Note II have a 1080p-resolution display. The first tops out at 800 horizontal lines and the second, despite having a larger display, only has 720 horizontal lines.

Bigger is not always better. Also, it’s not like most people will be able to discern the difference in screen resolution, anyway.


This article was originally published by BGR