Smartphones and tablets originally formed two separate markets, but now it seems they may be competing against each other in the near future as smartphone vendors are gradually increasing the display size of their products to attract demand.

　　In the past 12 months, the 5-inch display segment has seen growing popularity in the smartphone market, but tablet vendors have still been able to defend their 7- and 8-inch tablet sales. However, as many vendors are preparing to launch models with a screen size over 6-inch in the second half, a head-to-head competition between smartphones and tablets may not be too far away.

　　Sony started the trend of extending the smartphone markets to the 6-inch segment with the release of its Xperia Z Ultra, which features a 6.4-inch screen. Samsung Electronics, Nokia and HTC are also planning to release their new 6-inch smartphones in September.

　　Smartphone vendors' move is not only changing the ecosystem of the smartphone industry, but also showing vendors' intention of seizing demand from the 7-inch tablet market, which is already plagued by a fierce price war.

　　Although vendors of 7-inch tablets have already launched their counter strike by promoting the phablet concept, adding the talk function to tablet devices, their move may be unable to turn the tide.

　　Asustek released its 7-inch FonePad phablet, priced under NT$10,000 (US$334) in the first half and the company is preparing to release a second-generation model with a 6-inch display and phone function at the same price. As more products like the second-generation FonePad are expected to show up in the near future, the boundary between smartphones and tablets will gradually disappear.

　　Since many consumers stop carrying a tablet after owning a smartphone with a 5-inch or larger display, it indicates that 7- to 8-inch tablets can be replace by 5- to 6-inch smartphones and such a replacement is also expected to increase in the second half.

　　With large-size smartphones computing performance and functions improving further, 7- to 8-inch tablets' growth may start slowing down.