New trend sees more people using their TABLETS as a phone - PHOTO

A growing number of people are using their tablets in place of mobile phones to make calls, according to a new report.The research found that an increasing number of people are buying devices with screens measuring 7 inches (17.8cm) with built-in phone capabilities.According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker report, 13.8 million tablets arrived in Asia in the second quarter 2014.And around 3.5 million of these tablet had an option of using voice calling capabilities over a network built-in to the device.All of the call-enabled tablets in the report ran on Android, such as Samsung’s Tab range and the ASUS Fonepad.The report said growth is especially strong in some emerging markets, such as India and Indonesia, with almost half of tablets in this region having the feature built-in.‘This shift highlights the sustained interest among consumers, at least in emerging markets, to have a single mobile device for all their needs,’ said IDC analyst Avinash Sundaram.‘Be it watching movies and soap operas, taking pictures, texting or making calls, even if the device has a huge 7 inches (17.8cm) screen on it.‘It also helps that these devices are quite affordable, playing in the entry-to-mainstream price bands in most markets.’Mr Sundaram expects the trend of Android tablets used as a single converged mobile device in emerging markets to continue to gain pace.‘For now, it does look like the Asian love for bigger screens is set to continue,’ he said.(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.Az